Activists Are Sailing Again On Another Gaza Freedom Flotilla Ship With Aid To Break Israel’s Siege

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) activists are setting sail again in a new ship carrying aid in another attempt to break Israel’s siege and aid blockade on Gaza.

FFC is a coalition of international pro-Palestine activists and organizations, established in 2010, aiming to challenge and break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007 by delivering humanitarian aid directly to Gaza via sea.

The boat, the Handala, set sail on Sunday, July 13, from Siracusa port in Italy, carrying essential aid and about 15 activists.

This comes just weeks after the Madleen, another FFC vessel, was intercepted by Israel in international waters, with the 12 activists on board being kidnapped by Israel and deported back to their countries.

The Handala, named after an iconic Palestinian cartoon character of a barefoot refugee child who turned his back on injustice and vowed not to turn around until Palestine is free, plans to travel for approximately one week across about 1,800 kilometers in the Mediterranean Sea toward Gaza’s coast.

The flotilla will make a stop in Gallipoli, southeastern Italy, on July 18, where two members of the French political party La France Insoumise are scheduled to board.

Since its establishment in 2010, FFC ships have been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces, but activists are determined to keep on trying to ”take action where institutions have failed”.

The Handala is sailing for Gaza’s children, carrying Handala’s spirit and the spirit of “every child in Gaza who has been denied safety, dignity, and joy,” the FFC said in a statement.

Since Israel unilaterally broke the nearly two-month ceasefire in Gaza on March 18, it has also blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for more than 80 days, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians to starve.

It then allowed only a “basic” amount of aid to enter but through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed aid agency, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

 Israeli forces have killed more than 833 Palestinians trying to reach aid since GHF began distribution in late May.

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