Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback
A drone view shows the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, organized by the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, anchored off the coast of Catania, Italy, on June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Danilo Arnone
A drone view shows the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, organized by the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, anchored off the coast of Catania, Italy, on June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Danilo Arnone
A drone view shows the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, organized by the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, anchored off the coast of Catania, Italy, on June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Danilo Arnone
CATANIA - 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.
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.
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.
"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. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Three Israeli soldiers killed in combat in northern Gaza, army says
Three Israeli soldiers killed in combat in northern Gaza, army says Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday. The soldiers' deaths were announced hours after Hamas' armed wing said on Monday its fighters were engaging in "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces in the north of the territory. Israel began its offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants burst through the border from Israeli-blockaded Gaza, attacking Israelis in homes, cars and at an all-night music festival. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 251 people taken as hostages into Gaza. An additional four were already held by Hamas. Israel's campaign has devastated much of Gaza, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying most buildings. Much of the population now lives in shelters in makeshift camps. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
One killed, several injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine, officials say
Servicemen from the mobile air defence unit of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft cannon towards a Russian drone during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova Servicemen from the mobile air defence unit of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft cannon towards a Russian drone during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova A serviceman from the mobile air defence unit of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a Browning machine gun towards a Russian drone during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova One killed, several injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine, officials say Russia's overnight attacks killed one person in Ukraine's northeastern region of Kharkiv and injured several more in the northern city of Chernihiv, regional Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday. A private enterprise was hit in the small town of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region that borders Russia, killing one employee and injuring several others, Vitali Karabanov, the head of the town's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app. "A massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the town," Karabanov said, without providing details of the scale. The attacks came hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey for peace talks where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender. Falling drones on streets and residential buildings in the northern city of Chernihiv sparked several fires, including at residential houses, Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, the head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. Four people were hospitalised, Bryzhynskyi said. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said another 20 people, including eight children, received medical assistance at the site. The service posted photos on its Telegram account showing firefighters battling blazes in the dark and medics attending to a group of children. In the southern port city of Odesa, Russian overnight air attacks damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, but there were no injuries, Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram. The full scale of the overnight Russian attack on Ukraine was not immediately known. There was no immediate comment from Moscow and Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian reports. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched in February 2022. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
South Korean delivery workers allowed rare pause in services to vote in snap election
South Korea's biggest e-commerce platform Coupang, agreed to halt express deliveries for the first time since it launched in 2014 to allow workers to cast their votes. PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL - South Korean e-commerce and courier companies agreed to a rare halt of their delivery services on June 3 to allow busy delivery workers time to cast their ballot in the country's snap presidential election after pressure from unions and activists. Asia's fourth-largest economy has a highly tuned e-commerce sector and South Koreans typically rely on couriers to deliver everything from fresh food to clothing, often in a matter of hours, with the service normally available throughout the year. South Korea's biggest e-commerce platform Coupang, agreed to halt express deliveries for the first time since it launched in 2014, joining other local delivery services such as CJ Logistics and Hanjin Logistics. 'Rocket delivery will be paused during the day on June 3,' New York-listed Coupang said in a notice on its platform, pausing deliveries between 7am and 8pm. Most of the tens of thousands of delivery workers in South Korea are considered gig workers or self-employed and do not enjoy the same legal protections as permanent employees. The job is also notorious for long working hours and a heavy workload, with couriers complaining they have seen few of the benefits from an improvement in labour rights in other sectors. The agreement to temporarily halt services during the polls, was positively received by some workers. 'I welcome the decision. But on the other hand, it is a little regrettable that night drivers cannot rest,' said Coupang courier Cho Shin-hwan, who had to work on past elections. Nearly eight in 10 eligible voters in South Korea voted in the last presidential election in 2022, a far higher turnout than recent elections held in other democracies such as the United States and Japan. Presidential election days are designated as a national holiday in South Korea to encourage workers to vote, with polls for the snap election staying open between 6am and 8pm on June 3. 'Those affected worked hard to achieve this,' said deputy secretary-general at the non-government body People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy Kim Eun-jung, highlighting how delivery workers were excluded from current labour protection laws. The June 3 presidential election was called after the Constitutional Court ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol earlier in 2025 for his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec 3. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
