Latest news with #FFC
New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Greta Thunberg aboard Gaza-bound aid ship despite drone strike
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 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 UN-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 UN 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
Qatar Tribune
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
FFC aid ship aiming to break Israel's siege of Gaza sets sail from Italy
International nonprofit organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) says one of its vessels has left Sicily to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on a different ship in the Mediterranean. The 12-person crew, which includes Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham and Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, set sail on the Madleen from the port of Catania on Sunday, carrying barrels of relief supplies that the group called 'limited amounts, though symbolic'. The voyage comes after another vessel operated by the group, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May. While FFC said Israel was to blame for the incident, it 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 news conference before the departure. The Swedish climate activist had been due to board the Conscience. 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'. The activists expect to take seven days to reach their destination, if they are not stopped. The FCC, launched in 2010, is a non-violent international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza. It said the trip 'is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes'. United Nations agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly two million inhabitants. The situation in Gaza is at its worst since the war between Israel and Hamas began 19 months ago, the UN 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 on May 19, allowing extremely limited UN-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 the UN and international aid groups refusing to work with it, saying it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. The FCC is the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza, allegations Israel vehemently denies. 'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilisations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' said activist Thiago Avila. Avila also mentioned the upcoming Global March to Gaza – an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and members of the media – which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, calling on Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Freedom Flotilla' Tries Again To Break Israel's Blockade On Gaza
Activists from seven different countries set sail on Sunday for Gaza in hopes of breaking Israel's blockade on the ravaged territory and delivering desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. Organized by the grassroots Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the small sailboat named 'Madleen' launched from the Sicilian port of Catania and will journey across international waters in an effort to reach Gaza's ports, with some aid and 12 activists in tow. 'All of us here have families, and we wish we didn't have to do this,' Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila said at a virtual panel Sunday while on board. 'But families just like ours are being bombed. And children just like my baby, they're being amputated without anesthesia. And we cannot stay still.' Among those joining Ávila on the journey is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, retired U.S. Army Col. Ann Wright and European Parliament member Rima Hassan. Israel banned Hassan, a French member of Palestinian descent, from entering the country after she vocally opposed the siege on Gaza. '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 said through tears before boarding the vessel. 'And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of a livestreamed genocide.' The boat is expected to reach Gaza's territorial waters in approximately seven days. The public can follow the Madleen's journey via a tracker on the FFC's website, an effort the group says will help maintain transparency about its location, ensure safety of those on board and hold potential aggressors accountable for any actions. The newly departed civilian ship is the FFC's second attempt this year to get aid to Gaza. A month earlier, a boat called 'Conscience' was carrying humanitarian assistance and 18 civilians when it was bombed twice off the coast of Malta. The FFC maintains that Israel was responsible for the May 2 attack on international waters, though the Maltese and European Union authorities have yet to allow an independent investigation into it. 'We know the risks. We know how violent they are ― they just bombed our mission four weeks ago, they killed 10 of our participants 15 years ago,' Ávila said. 'What we know is that despite their hate, despite their violence, we are part of something huge.' Gaza has been under siege for nearly 19 months by Israeli forces, leading to the humanitarian catastrophe it's experiencing today. Israel came under intense backlash this year for enacting a total blockade on all aid that lasted months, leading to a mass starvation crisis that much of the international community has considered a violation of international law. 'What we have seen in the past three months … this is the final collapse,' U.N. special rapporteur Francesca Albanese said Sunday. 'This is the nail in the coffin of humanitarianism, whatever it means.' The Madleen is carrying aid like baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women's sanitary products, water desalination kits and medical supplies. The goal of the trip is not only to deliver the aid, the FFC says, but to also bring international solidarity and awareness to the crisis in hopes of challenging Israel's 18-year policy of controlling the land, air and sea around Gaza. 'Israel has created a death camp whose walls have to be broken down, and yet we are waiting for Israel to give us permission to go in,' human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf said last month. 'And until when? Until it's too late? It's already too late for so many. And so because our governments are failing, we have been trying to act.' Israel and the United States recently launched its widely condemned aid distribution system in Gaza, in an effort to replace the well-oiled network long established by the U.N. agency responsible for helping the Palestinian population (UNRWA). The new system requires Palestinians to trek farther distances for even a chance at food, though it has already proven unable to handle the breakdown of order resulting from a desperate, starving population. On Sunday, Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians who were on their way to receive food at an aid site. 'We are not going to stop trying to get to the people of Gaza, even if we have to go on a raft,' Arraf said. 'And we encourage all of civil society to keep acting the way they are, and we hope those that claim leadership of this global community will join and do what's right and stop being complicit in the extermination of Palestine.'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Aid ship aiming to break Israel's siege of Gaza sets sail from Italy
International nonprofit organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) says one of its vessels has left Sicily to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on a different ship in the Mediterranean. The 12-person crew, which includes Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham and Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, set sail on the Madleen from the port of Catania on Sunday, carrying barrels of relief supplies that the group called 'limited amounts, though symbolic'. The voyage comes after another vessel operated by the group, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May. While FFC said Israel was to blame for the incident, it 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 news conference before the departure. The Swedish climate activist had been due to board the Conscience. 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'. The activists expect to take seven days to reach their destination, if they are not stopped. The FCC, launched in 2010, is a non-violent international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza. It said the trip 'is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes'. United Nations agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly two million inhabitants. The situation in Gaza is at its worst since the war between Israel and Hamas began 19 months ago, the UN 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 on May 19, allowing extremely limited UN-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 the UN and international aid groups refusing to work with it, saying it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. The FCC is the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza, allegations Israel vehemently denies. 'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilisations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' said activist Thiago Avila. Avila also mentioned the upcoming Global March to Gaza – an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and members of the media – which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, calling on Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.
The Print
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
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.
