Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback
Another vessel operated by the group, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May. FFC said Israel was to blame for the incident. Israel has not responded to requests for comment.
The crew of volunteers, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, set sail on the Madleen, carrying barrels of what the group called 'limited amounts, though symbolic', of relief supplies.
CATANIA (Reuters) -International nonprofit organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said one of its vessels left the Italian port of Catania on Sunday, heading for Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on a separate ship in the Mediterranean.
'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,' Thunberg told reporters at a conference before the departure.
She added that 'no matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocised'.
FFC said the trip 'is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes'.
The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19 months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave.
Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N.-led operations to resume.
On Monday, a new avenue for aid distribution was also launched – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – backed by the United States and Israel, but with which the U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work, saying it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians.
(Reporting by Danilo Arnone in Catania and Giulia Segreti in Rome; Editing by David Holmes)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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Economic Times
38 minutes ago
- Economic Times
US pushes countries for best offers by Wednesday as tariff deadline looms
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
‘What if China stops Brahmaputra water,' threatens Pakistan. Does India need to worry?
India's decision to pause the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan hasn't gone down well in the neighbouring country. Now, Islamabad has come up with a scare tactic, claiming China could stop the Brahmaputra water. Is Beijing seriously considering such a move? What would it mean for New Delhi? read more Even as India and Pakistan have ceased military strikes against each other, the water war between the two nations continues after New Delhi placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack. The decision to place the water agreement of 1960 has angered and concerned Pakistan; a recent report shows that the water levels of the Indus and Jhelum rivers on Pakistan's side are running low. And this water shortage will, in turn, have a direct impact on the summer crop season. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In such a situation, Pakistan has once again resorted to scare tactics. Islamabad stated that the suspension of Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan could set a precedent for China to block the Brahmaputra River to India. However, now Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has called out Pakistan for its 'baseless attempt' to incite fear over a hypothetical situation involving the Brahmaputra. We take a closer look at the situation — from a possible China choke on the Brahmaputra to what the Indian chief minister is saying to what experts believe. Pakistan's threat of a China choke on Brahmaputra India's decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance has become a contentious issue in Islamabad. In late May, a senior aide to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned that India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could set a dangerous precedent, potentially prompting China to take reciprocal actions, such as blocking the flow of the Brahmaputra River. Speaking to a private news channel on Friday, Rana Ihsaan Afzal, the coordinator to the prime minister on commerce and industry, said New Delhi's decision could have far-reaching implications not just for Pakistan, but for the entire region. 'If India does something like this and stops the flow of water to Pakistan, then China can also do the same thing,' he cautioned. 'If things like this happen, the entire world will be in a war.' Days later, Victor Zhikai Gao, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing, was quoted as telling India Today that one should not treat others in a way they themselves would not like to be treated. Fishermen steer a boat on the Brahmaputra River at sunset in Guwahati. In his rebuttal to Pakistan's threat, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that China contributes only about 30 to 35 per cent of the Brahmaputra's total flow. File image/Reuters In the interview, the Chinese highlighted Beijing's control over the Brahmaputra River, adding further that just like rivers from India flow into Pakistan, rivers from China also flow into India. He warned that if India acts against others, it should be prepared for similar responses in return, which could lead to serious challenges for the country. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Assam's Himanta counters Pakistan threat However, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has slammed Pakistan for attempting to spread fear with the narrative of China blocking the Brahmaputra. In a strongly worded post on X, the chief minister issued a point-by-point rebuttal. 'Let's dismantle this myth — not with fear, but with facts and national clarity,' he wrote in the post. What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India? A Response to Pakistan's New Scare Narrative After India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat: 'What if China stops the Brahmaputra's water to India?'… — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 2, 2025 He first explained that the Brahmaputra is a 'river that grows in India, not shrinks'. Explaining this, he said that China contributes only 30 – 35 per cent of the Brahmaputra's total flow — mostly through glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall. Meanwhile, India generates the remaining 65–70 per cent through monsoon rains and inflows from its numerous tributaries in the Northeast. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He further emphasised that the strength of the river only intensifies after entering Indian territory. Using data, he said, 'At the Indo-China border (Tuting), flow is 2,000–3,000 metres per second. In Assam plains (for instance, Guwahati), the flow swells to 15,000–20,000 metres per second.' Sarma also argued that in the rare instance that China attempted to block the Brahmaputra's flow it would help rather than hurt India. How? He said that it would reduce the recurring floods in Assam that displace hundreds of thousands each year. In conclusion, he asserted that China has never officially threatened to weaponise the Brahmaputra and dismissed Pakistan's suggestion as nothing but speculative and fear-mongering. Experts Speak However, not everyone is assured by Sarma's counter on the Brahmaputra. Some experts are of the opinion that while China has made no official plans to block the Brahmaputra River, Beijing has announced the construction of the world's largest hydropower dam , across the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet last December. This construction has raised alarm bells for India as experts note that such infrastructure would exacerbate the risk of flash floods, particularly during monsoon season and could even cause environmental harm. Last December, China announced the construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra in the region of Tibet. File image/Reuters For those who are unaware, in December 2024, Beijing said it would build a hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet autonomous region. The Yarlung Zangbo River becomes the Brahmaputra River when it flows into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At the time of announcing the dam, China said that once completed it would produce three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam, which generates 88.2 billion kWh of electricity annually. And experts note that this dam could be a problem for India. How? As Genevieve Donnellon-May, a geopolitical and global strategy advisor, wrote for AsiaGlobal Online in 2022, that India worries the project could result in the country depending on China for its water supplies. Others also note that a dam of this scale would trap massive amounts of sediment upstream, disrupting its flow downstream. This could make farming less productive, threatening food security in one of the world's most densely populated regions. Besides being a risk to the country's agricultural sector, such a damn is also a security threat. As the dam is expected to be near Arunachal Pradesh , an area claimed by both India and China, it is bound to complicate matters. Given the recent military standoffs along the Sino-Indian border, Beijing's control over a major water source could be perceived as a strategic pressure point. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Environmental concerns also loom large. The Himalayas are one of the most seismically active regions in the world, making large-scale infrastructure projects highly risky. A potential dam failure or mismanagement during extreme weather events could lead to catastrophic flooding in downstream areas, posing serious humanitarian and economic consequences for India. With inputs from agencies
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Israeli troops kill at least 24 Palestinians near Gaza aid site, medics say
At least 24 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday (June 3, 2025), local health authorities said, in the latest bout of chaos and bloodshed to plague the aid operation. The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah. It added it was still investigating what had happened. The deaths came hours after Israel said three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, as its forces pushed ahead with a months-long offensive against Hamas militants that has laid waste to much of the enclave. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza. The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting. The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles. The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site". However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies. On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire. The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday's distribution "fabrications" by Hamas. On Tuesday it said IDF forces had identified "a number of suspects" moving towards them while deviating from the access routes. "The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces," it said. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday he was 'appalled' by reports of Palestinians killed and wounded while seeking aid and called for an independent investigation. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 assault in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. In the subsequent fighting, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, local health authorities say.
