Israel plans to block vessel seeking to break Gaza siege

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Israel said Monday that it is planning to block a ship carrying international activists sailing toward the Gaza Strip to break the Israeli siege on the enclave amid a worsening humanitarian crisis due to Israel’s genocidal war.

Israel’s Army Radio said the navy is preparing for the arrival of the Gaza Flotilla sailboat Madleen which left Sicily on its way to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to “break the naval blockade.”

The ship is carrying a 12-person crew, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham.

In a brief response to a request for comment, the Israeli military said “it is enforcing the security maritime closure on Gaza and is preparing for a variety of scenarios,” without elaborating further.

On Monday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said in a statement that it “launched the Madleen, a civilian ship now sailing toward Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct defiance of Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade.”

On board are volunteers from several countries, including French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan and Greta Thunberg, it added.

The ship, part of the FFC, 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.

The statement emphasized that “this is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence.”

Speaking before the ship’s departure, Thunberg described the trip as a “symbolic civilian mission” aimed at breaking the siege.

“If there is even a shred of humanity left, we must fight for Palestine. I am here because it’s a duty,” she said.

The ship is expected to reach Gaza’s coastline in roughly a week, although it faces a high risk of interception by Israeli forces in international waters.

The voyage follows a similar attempt by the FFC in early May, when the coalition’s vessel Conscience was attacked by Israeli drones in international waters. That strike caused a fire and tore a hole in the ship’s hull, according to flotilla sources.

The Gaza Media Office has accused Israel of using starvation as a tool to displace 2.4 million Palestinians in the enclave. According to the office, Israel has blocked humanitarian aid, especially food, by closing all border crossings since March 2.

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.