New Delhi: Armed with food, water, and medical supplies, the ship Madleen, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is currently sailing towards Gaza to break the Israeli blockade of the strip. Climate activist Greta Thunberg and French MP Rima Hassan, among others, are on board the ship, which set sail from the port of Catania in Sicily Sunday.
It is not the first such mission. The Freedom Flotilla has been organising such missions since 2008.
A month ago, the ship Conscience attempted to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid and other activists, including Thunberg, on board. However, two aerial drone attacks on 2 May damaged it, though the passengers could be brought ashore—unharmed. The coalition and activists have blamed Israel for the attack.
The Madleen, which is taking baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics to Gaza, saw a grand send-off on 1 June, with British actor Liam Cunningham attending and activists singing Bella Ciao, a song dedicated to the Italian resistance that fought against the occupying troops of Nazi German. Liam Cunningham posted the scenes from Catania on X.
Since 2 June this year, Gaza has been in a severe humanitarian crisis following the collapse of a ceasefire on 18 March, 2025, when Israel resumed intense military operations. No humanitarian aid has entered Gaza for over 11 weeks from 2 March to 18 May this year, exacerbating shortages of food, water, medical supplies, and shelter. The UN, which has called Gaza the “hungriest place on Earth”, warns that 100 percent of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine.
Starting 7 October, 2023, the Gaza conflict has claimed nearly 60,000 Palestinian lives, with many more still buried beneath the rubble.
Before embarking on the journey the second time, Thunberg stated, “We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying. 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.”
She also shared a video message from the Madleen, saying, “We will attempt to, again, sail towards Gaza and try to break the siege and open up a humanitarian corridor by delivering aid like food and medical supplies.” She also urged supporters to “keep your eyes on deck, continue flooding the streets, organise, boycott, and do everything in your power to stand for Palestine”.
Rima Hassan, an MP of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Left-wing party, France Unbowed (La France Insoumise), echoing the same sentiments, said, “The only way to guarantee the success of this mission but also our safety is citizen mobilisation; we count on you to share the initiative but also to follow the crossing.”
Israel has banned her from entering the country for her vocal support of Gaza.
“May she remain a voice of courage and determination for a long time to come. May her commitment and her words resonate beyond the cowards and the indifferent. Let us be there to support our Rima Hassan, who bravely steps into danger. #FreedomFlotilla #StopGenocide,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote in an X post, showing his support.
Other activists on board Madleen are Yasemin Acar (Germany), Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Omar Faiad, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Şuayb Ordu from Turkey, Sergio Toribio from Spain, and Marco Van Rennes from The Netherlands.
The Madleen, which gets its name from a Palestinian fisherwoman, is backed by several celebrities such as Hollywood veteran Susan Sarandon, Game of Thrones star Cunningham, another British actor Aiysha Hart, Palestinian writer Susan Abulhawa, Dutch actor Carice van Houten, Mexican actor Melissa Barrera, and one of the three Hadid sisters—Alana Hadid—among others.
“Israel’s blockade of aid is collective punishment, which is a war crime,” said Sarandon in a video post on the Freedom Flotilla Instagram page, with Thunberg concluding with, “The same powers that are annihilating Palestinians are polluting our skies, exploiting our Earth and communities, and robbing us of our future.“
Many supporters of Israel are criticising the mission on social media. US Senator Lindsey Graham, seemingly referring to a possible attack on Madleen, wrote on X, “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”
In another X post, Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of The International Legal Forum, called Greta Thunberg a “jihadi” and made a not-so-veiled threat.
Oh look, the little jihadi @GretaThunberg is trying to get into Gaza, to show solidarity with Hamas. It would be so sad if something were to happen to her flotilla … pic.twitter.com/RL9peJUWEL
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) June 1, 2025
The first Freedom Flotilla mission was in 2008 when Liberty and Free Gaza became the first international boats to break the Gaza seize after 40 long years through which Israel had prevented vessels from docking at the port. Since then, while Israel has come down heavily on many of the missions, abducting or jailing activists, five trips of the Freedom Flotilla have been successful.
The Freedom Flotilla has, however, had its share of misfortunes, with Israel’s deadly raid of the ship, Mavi Marmara, on 31 May, 2010, leaving 10 volunteers dead. On its official site, the coalition has pointed out “the international community’s ongoing failure to deliver justice or accountability” since then.
Israel would be doing a favour to humanity if the IDF blows up the Madleen. Humanity would forever be grateful to the Israelis.