Latest news with #MaviMarmara
Roya News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Freedom Flotilla's 'Handala' to set sail on new aid mission to starving Gaza
The Handala, a civilian vessel organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), is poised to depart from Syracuse, Italy, on July 13, 2025, embarking on a new mission to challenge the 'Israeli' naval blockade of Gaza and deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid. Named after the iconic Palestinian cartoon character by Naji al-Ali, symbolizing a barefoot refugee child who turned his back on injustice, the Handala carries a diverse group of activists, medics, lawyers, journalists, and humanitarian supplies. Its objectives are threefold: to break the protracted blockade, deliver vital aid, and express solidarity with the besieged population of Gaza. The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where a complete blockade has been in place since March 2, 2025, marks the longest continuous closure in the blockade's history. Reports from the ground indicate widespread hunger, with nearly one in three people going entire days without food, and hospitals facing imminent shutdown due to fuel shortages. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has highlighted persistent strikes on civilians seeking aid and shelter, with a staggering 86% of the Gaza Strip now within 'Israeli'-militarized zones or under displacement orders since March 18. This voyage follows the interception of the FFC's previous vessel, the "Madleen," in June 2025, during which activists, including a Member of the European Parliament, were detained and deported by 'Israeli' forces. The FFC maintains that such actions in international waters are illegal and vows to continue its non-violent resistance. Participants on board the Handala represent a global grassroots movement, taking action where, as the FFC states, "institutions have failed." The ship itself has previously sailed to ports across Europe and the UK in 2023 and 2024, serving as a platform for awareness campaigns and political education about the blockade and the plight of Gaza's children, who comprise over half of the territory's population and have borne the brunt of the recent conflict. The international community's reactions to past flotillas have been mixed, with many countries condemning previous 'Israeli' interceptions and calling for investigations into incidents such as the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid, which resulted in the deaths of ten activists. While the complete and final list of all participants on the Handala for this specific voyage isn't always released publicly beforehand for security reasons, the FFC draws from a pool of dedicated volunteers who undergo a vetting process. Some individuals who have previously participated in FFC missions and may be on board or are closely associated with the current effort include: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jacob Berger (@jacobbergeractor)
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Catching Israel Out: Gaza And The Madleen 'Selfie' Protest
The latest incident with the Madleen vessel, pictured as a relief measure by celebrity activists and sundry accompaniments to supply civilians with a modest assortment of humanitarian aid, is merely one of multiple previous efforts to break the Gaza blockade. It is easy to forget that, prior to Israel's current program to kill, starve and empty the enclave of its Palestinian citizens after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Gaza had already become, arguably, the world's largest open-air prison. It was a prison which converted all citizens into inmates trapped in a state of continual privation, placed under constant surveillance, at the mercy of the dispensations and graces of a power occupying in all but name. At any moment, officials could be extrajudicially assassinated, or families obliterated by executive fiat. In 2008, the Free Gaza Movement successfully managed to reach Gaza with two vessels. For the next eight years, five out of 31 boats successfully journeyed to the Strip. Others met no such luck. In 2010, Israeli commandos revealed their petticoats of violence in killing 10 activists and injuring dozens of others on the Mavi Marmara, a vessel carrying 10,000 tonnes of supplies, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators. It was also operated by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a Turkish NGO, being one of six ships that formed a flotilla. Scandal followed, and the wounds on that issue have yet to heal. With the Israeli Defense Forces and its evangelical warriors preaching the destruction of Palestinians along with any hope of a viable, functioning state, an impotent collective of nations, either allied to Israel or adversarial in nature, have been unable to minimise or restrain the viciousness of the Gaza campaign. Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, have made largely fruitless military efforts to ease the program of gradual liquidation taking place in the Strip. Given such an absence of resolve and effectualness, tragedy can lend itself to symbolic theatre and farce. The Madleen enterprise, operated by the Freedom Flotilla, departed from Sicily on June 1 with baby formula, food, medical items and water desalination kits. It ended with its interception by the Israeli forces in international waters roughly 185 km (100 nautical miles) from Gaza. With a top billing activist such as Greta Thunberg, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, and journalists in the crew, including Al Jazeera's Omar Faiad, this was not your standard run of the mill effort. Celebrities, when they throw themselves at ethical and moral problems, often risk trivialising the cause before the bright lights, gilding, if not obscuring the lily in the process. Thunberg, for all her principles, has become a professional activist, a superstar of the protest circuit. Largely associated with shaming climate change denialists, laziness on the part of officials to deal with dense carbon footprints, her presence on the Madleen crew is a reminder that calculated activism has become a media spectacle. It is a model, an IKEA flatpack version, to be assembled on sight, an exportable product, ready for the journey. This is not to be flippant about Thunberg, or the broader purpose involved here. Her presence, and those engaged in the enterprise, are dangerous reminders to the Israeli project in Gaza. Had they been wise, the bureaucrats would have let stoic silence render the affair a media event, one filed in the library of forget me, white noise articles that have become the stock and trade of an overly crowded infosphere. But the criminal instinct, or at least one guiltily prone towards one, is garrulous. The chatter can never stop, because the justifications for such behaviour never end. Israeli's Foreign Ministry, for instance, thought it wise to dismiss the entire effort of what it called the 'celebrities yacht' as a 'media gimmick for publicity (which includes less than a single truckload of aid) – a 'selfie yacht'.' Perfectly capturing Israel's own abominable record in supplying humanitarian aid in dribs and drabs to the residents of Gaza, when it bothered to, the ministry goes on to fabulise about 1,200 aid trucks and 11 million meals supposedly sent to those in the Strip, never mentioning the killing of those seeking the aid by IDF personnel, the enlistment of rogue Palestinian clans, and the sketchy background of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Defence Minister Israel Katz also issued a statement declaring that Israel would 'not allow anyone to violate the naval blockade on Gaza, the primary purpose of which is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas, a murderous terror organisation that holds our hostages and commits war crimes.' In responding to the vessel, the Israelis did not disappoint. They added to the scene with accustomed violence, but the publicity wonks were aware that killing Thunberg and treating the rest of the crew like any other member of displaced persons at Khan Younis did not seem kosher. The infliction of suffering had to be magisterially restrained, a gold class privilege delved out by the superior ones. No missiles or armed drones on this occasion were used. Instead, the twelve member crew were taken to the port city of Ashdod, 30km north of Gaza, where prison authorities had been instructed by Israel's dogmatic National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to hold them in solitary confinement. A number, including Thunberg, have been deported. Others are still being held, purportedly for refusing to sign paperwork authorising their deportation. As the formalities are being chewed over, the broader designation of the effort by the Madleen and her crew as those of a 'selfie yacht' offer the pool's reflection to Israeli authorities: how the IDF took selfies of their atrocities, filming with haughty and avenging pride the destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure and the moonscape of their creation; how Israeli officials, such as the former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant felt comfortable claiming the Jewish state was 'fighting against human animals'. This was one occasion where a celebrity venture, as small it was, proved worthy.
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Israel detains Gaza Flotilla, deports Greta Thunberg: Recalling the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident
Israel's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday (June 10) announced it had deported Swedish activist Greta Thunberg a day after seizing the Madleen, the ship she was on. In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry wrote, 'Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France).' Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France). — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 10, 2025 A British-flagged vessel, the Madleen set sail from Italy last week and carried aid for the people of war-torn Gaza. Twelve passengers, including Thunberg, were on board. It was backed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), an international movement aiming to end 'the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza'. Israel's relative restraint in detaining the passengers and moving to deport them marks a sharp contrast to what ensued when another FFC-backed ship, the Conscience, set out to deliver aid to Gaza last month. The ship faced a drone attack in international waters near Malta on May 2, and held Israel responsible. These actions are not unprecedented. In 2010, Israeli commandos shot dead 10 activists aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of a 'freedom flotilla' carrying aid to Gaza in a similar effort. The news triggered international condemnation and strained relations between Israel and Turkey, who were allies at the time. Turkey condemned the Israeli detention of the Madleen on Monday, calling Israel a 'terrorist state', and the move a 'clear violation of international law'. The Mavi Marmara was one of six civilian ships which had set sail towards Gaza as part of the 'Gaza Freedom Flotilla': three of these, including the Mavi Marmara, were passenger ships carrying 748 people of 40 nationalities. The other three carried aid meant for Palestine, aiming to breach an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on Gaza. (The flotilla originally included two more ships, which faced engine issues ahead of their start, spurring rumours of Israeli sabotage.) The Israeli blockade has existed since the '90s, but these restrictions were intensified after Hamas gained control of Gaza in 2007. Egypt closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza that year. Physical barriers were erected around the 365 sq km Gaza Strip in Palestine's southwestern region. Additionally, Israel had maintained a naval blockade, preventing international ships from entering Gaza or local vessels from leaving the coastal waters. This was intensified in October 2023, following the Hamas attacks on Israel. Soon, Israel stopped the supply of food, water, fuel and electricity into Gaza. Israel briefly loosened the blockade this January following a US-brokered ceasefire, only to reinstate it in March, alleging ceasefire violations by Hamas. The Freedom Flotilla carried 10,000 tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators, according to a BBC report. This defied an Israeli directive banning the entry of a wide variety of goods to keep the pressure on Hamas. The flotilla sought to draw international attention to the blockade, which it described as illegal. The effort was spearheaded by the Free Gaza Movement, a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups challenging the Israeli blockade of Gaza, as well as the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH). Notably, Israel had identified the IHH as a terrorist organisation, closely linked to Hamas. Turkey refuted this view, treating it as a bona fide charity, and had urged Israel to allow the flotilla passage. Israel also wished to verify that the ships did not carry construction materials, weapons or cash. It reportedly asked the flotilla to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod, and offered to transport all approved goods by road, according to the BBC report. So what happened on May 31, 2010? Before dawn broke on May 31, 2010, Israeli naval forces descended on the flotilla from helicopters and warships in international waters between Cyprus and the Gaza Coast. While the timeline is disputed, Israeli officials claimed their troops opened fire after first being attacked by some of the passengers, who 'charged them with knives and sticks and allegedly fired live rounds,' according to a 2010 report of the Financial Times. In the ensuing melee, nine activists aboard the Mavi Marmara were shot dead, and at least 50 other passengers were wounded, according to the 2010 UN Human Rights Council report, which investigated the incident. One of the wounded remained in a coma for four years before dying. All the deceased were Turkish nationals. Ten commandos were also reportedly injured in the attack. Israel-Turkey relations After Israel was carved out of then-Mandatory Palestine in 1948, Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to recognise the nation a year later. However, the relations between the two have progressed in waves, with Turkey periodically expressing its support for Palestine's right to self-determination. The 2010 attack came during a fraught diplomatic period and saw bilateral relations devolve within just hours. Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel, while Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then the Prime Minister, accused Israel of overseeing 'inhuman state terror'. Both countries hurled accusations over the following years, with Turkey demanding an apology from Israel, and Israel claiming it had a right to defend itself. However, efforts towards normalising relations unexpectedly commenced in 2013, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tendering an apology, and the two countries agreeing to a system of compensation for the victims' families. Relations were normalised in 2016. The two countries have since faced a very rocky relationship, with Israel's policy on Palestine remaining a flashpoint. In 2024, Turkey severed all diplomatic ties with Israel over its unwillingness to end its war in Gaza.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Israeli Navy chief: Handling of Gaza flotilla incident was a 'diplomatic failure'
The Gaza Flotilla was "a completely unnecessary event that should have ended as a diplomatic event," the former Navy commander said. The Madleen Gaza Freedom Flotilla was "a completely unnecessary event that should have ended as a diplomatic event," former Navy Commander Major General (res.) Eliezer "Chiny" Marom said on Monday during an interview. "It's not a military event; it's entirely a diplomatic event. Ultimately, we failed in this regard, and the ship set out from the shores of Sicily and arrived here. Therefore, the last barrier before breaking the maritime security blockade was carried out by the Navy," Marom said. "The whole event is entirely civilian; it's not a military event," he continued. "We have dealt with many such events - some of which you may not even know about, as they never made headlines over the years - and we failed with this one. After the Mavi Marmara incident in 2011, a flotilla of 20 ships was organized; we acted diplomatically and legally in various ways, and ultimately, not a single one reached the shores of Israel." "We imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip. That blockade was imposed in December 2009, if I'm not mistaken. It's a blockade recognized by the whole world, and it means something very simple - a country has a right to defend itself; it imposes a blockade, and it must be enforced equally on everyone," Marom said. "If you allow one ship in, then everyone can enter. Meaning, if someone says, "Let's allow this ship to enter," then there's no longer a blockade. To stop that ship, you need the blockade itself. If you cancel that blockade, within three months Iranian ships will be in Gaza - and you don't want that to happen," he added. Regarding the Madleen incident, "I don't think the world is too excited about this," Maron said. "There have already been flotillas since the Marmara incident, and we handled them just fine. The Navy knows how to learn lessons and take things seriously. I want to commend the fighters who did an outstanding job."
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Freedom Flotillas: The Deadly History as Greta Thunberg Detained by Israel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Israel announced on Monday the interception of a "freedom flotilla" carrying activist Greta Thunberg, the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to bring aid into the Gaza Strip amid Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the territory. Newsweek reached out to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition for comment via email. Why It Matters The vessel, named Madleen and operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was stopped in international waters on its way to a port in Gaza amid Israel's naval blockade. The FFC said that the group was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid, including food, baby formula and medical supplies. Activists have led these missions to try to bring in aid and food to Gaza, where citizens have faced starvation amid the war between Israel and Hamas. The World Health Organization (WHO) said 2.1 million people in Gaza are "facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death." On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack against Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 251 people. Today, around 58 people remain captive. Israel has since launched an offensive on Gaza, killing more than 54,000 people, according to the Associated Press, citing Gaza's Health Ministry. What To Know The decades-long conflict between Israel and Hamas has seen several attempts at breaking through the naval blockade of Gaza, and these efforts have at times turned deadly, such as in 2010. That year, the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara aimed to deliver aid to Gaza and raise awareness about the conditions in the territory. In May 2010, the ship was intercepted by Israel, whose soldiers raided the boat. The raid ended with nine Turkish activists being killed by Israeli naval commandos. Main: The Madleen "freedom flotilla" approaches the Israeli southern port of Ashdod on June 9, 2025. Inset: Greta Thunberg speaks at a press conference in Catania, Italy, on June 1, 2025. Main: The Madleen "freedom flotilla" approaches the Israeli southern port of Ashdod on June 9, 2025. Inset: Greta Thunberg speaks at a press conference in Catania, Italy, on June 1, 2025. JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images;Israel said those on board attacked soldiers using knives and iron bars during the interception. Israel faced outrage over its handling of the first flotilla mission, with former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon being among the global leaders who condemned their response. The International Criminal Court, however, declined to prosecute Israel for the raid. Another "freedom flotilla" was planned for the following year, in 2011, from Athens; however, the Greek government banned Gaza-bound ships from using their ports. Additional flotillas were intercepted in 2015, about 100 miles off the Gaza Coast, and in 2018. Last month, another ship, the Conscience, was allegedly attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta, reported the Associated Press. There have been a few successful attempts at reaching Gaza, such as in 2008, when two boats carrying 46 activists successfully broke through the naval blockage. The ships carried cargo, including hearing aids, into the territory despite Israel's restrictions, according to a report from The Guardian at the time. Ship Carrying Greta Thunberg, Other Activists Seized Thunberg and other activists were on board the Madleen—named after Gaza fisherwoman Madleen Kulab, according to Al Jazeera—as part of the latest effort to break through Israel's naval blockade, but were intercepted on Monday about 120 miles off the coast of Gaza. Israel said the activists would be returned to their home countries and that aid would be distributed to Gaza. In total, there were 12 other individuals aboard the ship, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament and Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Omar Faiad. Huwaida Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer, said in a press release that the interception "blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ's binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza." "These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade—their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately," Arraf said. What People Are Saying Greta Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video released Monday: "If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel." Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, on X (formerly Twitter): "To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas-propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back—because you will not reach Gaza. Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations—at sea, in the air, and on land." Freedom Flotilla organizer Tan Safi, in a press release: "The world's governments remained silent when Conscience was bombed. Now Israel is testing that silence again. Every hour without consequences emboldens Israel to escalate its attacks on civilians, aid workers, and the very foundations of international law." What Happens Next Israeli authorities have indicated that the detained activists will be processed and repatriated. As of Monday, they were being transported to Ashdod.
