One week into its voyage, and on the day that it was meant to reach Gaza’s shores, an aid ship piloted by 12 activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has been warned not to go any further. In a post on X Sunday, June 8, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote that he has “instructed the (Israel Defense Forces) to act so that the ‘Madleen’ hate flotilla does not reach the shores of Gaza – and to take any means necessary to that end.”
Raising international awareness
The Madleen, which departed from Sicily Sunday, June 1, is being operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Among its passengers are Thunberg, “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham, and Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament who has been barred from entering Israel due to her pro-Palestinian messaging.
The crew said their goal is to raise “international awareness” over the ongoing hunger and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. At a press conference before they departed last week, Thunberg said, “We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying.”
She added, “Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.”
Israel vows to stop the ship
However, Katz has vowed not to let that happen. “Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or aid terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air and on land,” the IDF head said via X on Sunday.
Katz has claimed that the IDF is blocking the flotilla so that weapons don’t reach Hamas militants, saying, “The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas.”
However, the coalition has stated that its cargo is “symbolic,” consisting of items such as baby formula and rice, Reuters reports. As of Sunday, the ship was still roughly 160 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.
This is the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s second attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade and bring humanitarian assistance into Gaza. In May, the activist group said its vessel was struck by a pair of drones while sailing near Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which did not officially respond to the accusations.
Israel’s blockade plunges Gaza into famine-like conditions
After breaking a ceasefire agreement in March, Israel imposed a total blockade of all humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, effectively plunging much of the territory’s population into famine-like conditions. The region has been under a partial blockade since 2007, when Hamas assumed control of military operations in Gaza.
Israel ostensibly lifted its total blockade in May, though the flow of food and other necessities into the region has faced numerous setbacks.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli- and U.S.-backed group charged with distributing food to Gaza’s population of roughly 2 million people, has since paused those efforts, following numerous reports that Palestinians were being killed near its distribution sites. The GHF and IDF deny those reports, though eyewitnesses, medics, international aid organizations and others say the Israeli military is responsible.
The United Nations has warned of a growing risk of famine in Gaza as conditions worsen for the civilian population. The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization said that as of May, Gaza’s residents are eating 67% of what a human body needs to survive.
“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,” said Freedom Flotilla member Thiago Avila.