JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Yasemin Acar, a human rights activist and press coordinator for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) aboard the non-profit's Madleen, said Israel had begun to disrupt their internet access as they are hours away from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to Anadolu from the Madleen, the aid boat that departed from southern Italy with the goal of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenging Israel’s blockade, Acar said “we have just been notified by our land team that our internet jamming has started officially and we can definitely see this from our connection because it has slowed down immensely and that means we could be cut out from the world any moment.”

She said the vessel was currently 116 nautical miles from Gaza, still in international waters, and warned that communication with the outside world could be severed any time.

Addressing legal and humanitarian implications of a possible military response, Acar said: “We are in international waters heading towards the waters of the Gaza territory and if anything was to happen to us, meaning if the IDF would show violence against the humanitarian mission carrying humanitarian aid, this would be yet another war crime because we are not in their territories.”

She recalled prior Israeli actions against similar missions, including the 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara, which killed 10 activists, and the recent drone strike on the FFC’s Conscience vessel near Malta on May 2.

— All looks calm and safe now. Speedboats watching; but the flotilla continues its sailing, said UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

❝This unfortunately has been a very unlikely false alarm. We have been surrounded by many lights all at once, and they were circling our boat, but in the end, they kept going their own way❞

Madleen aid ship heading to Gaza surrounded by Israeli boats was ‘false alarm,’ said Thiago Avila, one of the 12 activists on board the Madleen.

French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan says sirens were triggered aboard the Madleen after drones sprayed the Gaza-bound aid ship with a white liquid.

UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese confirms two drones were seen overhead, describing them as “the dangerous ones.”

‘The next 24 hours are very crucial’

After eight days at sea, the crew intends to reach Gaza by Monday morning, given that there is no interference. As of now, Israel has made no direct or indirect contact with the vessel.

Acar stressed the urgency of their mission, emphasizing that “the next 24 hours are very crucial.”

The 12-person crew remains in high spirits, Acar said, highlighting the presence of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham.

“The Madleen is just a small fraction of a global uprising,” she said.

She criticized the silence of the international community in the face of Israel’s aggression and blockade, saying “the international community has stayed silent in the face of this illegal blockade. We've been saying this for many, many years and for the past days, we are a non-violent action. We carry no weapons. We are not looking for violence.”

Their mission, she said, is simple and urgent. “All we are looking for is to bring this aid to the starving population in the face of a world being silent about it and shipping weapons instead of shipping humanitarian aid and lifting the illegal blockade on Gaza.”

Threats to Madleen

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered on Sunday the military to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza.

The Israeli Navy is preparing to intercept the humanitarian vessel as it approaches Gaza’s waters, with plans to forcibly redirect it to Ashdod port.

Sharing a photo of his meeting with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and naval commanders, Katz said: “I have instructed the Israeli military to do whatever is necessary to prevent the Madleen hate flotilla from reaching Gaza. I am clearly telling the anti-Semitic Greta and Hamas propaganda spokespeople: Turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”

Madleen’s voyage

As part of the latest mission organized by the FFC to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid to the region, the 18-meter sailing boat Madleen set sail for Gaza on June 1 from the Port of San Giovanni Li Cuti in Catania, Sicily, Italy.

A total of 12 people are on board the Madleen, including 11 activists and one journalist. Among them are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan; Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Türkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.

The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics, according to its organizers.