Latest news with #GazaBlockade
UAE Moments
5 days ago
- Politics
- UAE Moments
Everything to Know About the Handala Freedom Flotilla
The Handala, the latest vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail on July 13, 2025, from Syracuse, Italy. Its aim: to break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza and bring much-needed humanitarian aid to its besieged population. What Is the Freedom Flotilla Coalition? Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a global activist network that was launched in 2010 to end Gaza's decades‑long blockade. The organization uses civilian-led sea missions carrying aid to spotlight the humanitarian crisis and challenge the blockade. Why 'Handala'? The ship is named after Handala, the iconic barefoot Palestinian cartoon character created by Naji al-Ali. He symbolizes defiance, resistance, and the ongoing Palestinian struggle for freedom and the right of return. Route & Timeline The ship departed on July 13 from Syracuse, Sicily and had a stopover in Gallipoli, southern Italy, on July 15. Who's On Board? Around 15 volunteers from diverse backgrounds, including medics, lawyers, journalists, community organizers, and activists, underscore the mission's grassroots and non-governmental nature. Mission Objectives Break the Naval Blockade: Sail directly into Gaza waters in defiance of restrictions since 2007. Deliver Humanitarian Aid: Carry food, medicine, and essential supplies to Gaza's civilians. Raise Global Awareness: Amplify Palestinian voices and reveal the human impact of the siege. Context & Momentum Handala follows June's intercept of the FFC's previous vessel, the Madleen, boarded in international waters while carrying activists, including Greta Thunberg and MEP Rima Hassan. Israeli forces seized the Madleen, citing security concerns, prompting international protests and symbolic activism. The Handala's voyage builds on this legacy of peaceful resistance and solidarity. What's at Stake? The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire: shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and electricity persist, with famine warnings looming . The Handala mission is both a direct challenge to the blockade and a humanitarian lifeline, shining a light on civilian suffering. Possible Outcomes Whether you support the idea of civilian aid missions or not, the Handala Freedom Flotilla is emblematic of non-state actors confronting geopolitical crises, underlining issues of humanitarian access, civilian rights, and international law.
Al Jazeera
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
New Freedom Flotilla ship sets sail to challenge Gaza blockade
New Freedom Flotilla ship sets sail to challenge Gaza blockade NewsFeed A new Freedom Flotilla ship, the Handala, has departed from Italy for an attempt to break Israel's blockade on Gaza and deliver essential aid. The last vessel to make the journey, the Madleen, was seized by Israeli forces in international waters in June. Video Duration 02 minutes 36 seconds 02:36 Video Duration 02 minutes 08 seconds 02:08 Video Duration 00 minutes 24 seconds 00:24 Video Duration 02 minutes 24 seconds 02:24 Video Duration 00 minutes 57 seconds 00:57 Video Duration 03 minutes 31 seconds 03:31 Video Duration 02 minutes 14 seconds 02:14
Al Bawaba
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Freedom Flotilla 'Handala' sails towards Gaza to break siege
ALBAWABA - Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced that a new ship called "Handala" will be sailing today, July 13, towards the Gaza Strip with the aim of breaking the blockade which was forced by Israel following the latest war. The Handala ship will be departing again from Siracusa, Italy, towards Gaza in an attempt to break the siege imposed by Israel, in an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023. Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a global coalition highlighting the inhumanity of the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza, posted on X decrying what happened with the Madleen ship, which was paused by Israel before it reached Gaza, and announcing the launch of a new flotilla for the same mission. It wrote: "The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is setting sail again. Join us in Siracusa, Italy — or online — on July 13 at 10:30 CEST (GMT+2) as we launch 'Handala' on its journey toward Gaza." "Just weeks after Israeli forces illegally seized our boat 'Madleen' and abducted 12 unarmed civilians in international waters, we continue — with global solidarity — to challenge Israel's illegal and deadly siege." However, the FFC said that this time the mission aims to help starving children in Gaza, who are facing a lack of formula and basic needs. The coalition said in a social media post that they are "not governments," but they are people taking action where institutions have failed, stressing that they will not back down until the blockade is broken. We are setting sail again. On July 13, 2025 our boat #Handala will depart from Siracusa, Italy to break Israel's illegal blockade. This mission is for the children of Gaza. Just weeks ago, Israeli forces illegally seized our boat #Madleen and abducted 12 unarmed civilians aboard…
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Irish in Germany are caught between starkly different perspectives on the war in Gaza
There was plenty for Tánaiste Simon Harris to discuss on Friday in Berlin with his new German foreign minister colleague, Johann Wadephul. After a chilly meeting of Irish and German foreign ministers last year, no joint press conference was planned this time around. Berlin and Dublin, traditionally close partners on EU and foreign policy, have found themselves far apart following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7th 2023, which claimed at least 1,200 lives. In his January 2024 visit, then-tánaiste Micheál Martin suggested Berlin's view of the Gaza conflict was constrained 'by the historical prism of the Holocaust', though 'evolving'. Germany's position has evolved quite a bit further since then, with growing public outrage here over Israel's Gaza blockade, settler violence in the West Bank and a Palestinian death toll nearing 60,000. A more critical tone towards Israel from the new German government, however, has yet to be matched in any significant policy shift. The current Israel-Hamas conflict, for many Irish people living in Germany, resembles what John le Carré once called a 'looking glass war'. In their daily lives here and during visits back to Ireland, the German-Irish negotiate two separate minefields with one common denominator: dissent from the majority opinion – or attempts at differentiation in the public debate – are often denounced. READ MORE The most visible sign of tension surrounds two Irish citizens who face expulsion from Germany in connection with their alleged role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including a violent confrontation at a Berlin university. Their precise role in what happened there has yet to be established and, in an emergency injunction, a Berlin court has halted expulsion proceedings until after trial, likely in the autumn. That didn't stop Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner prejudging them, in a national newspaper, as 'anti-Semitic criminals'. Many Irish people here who join Gaza solidarity marches, as they would if they were in Ireland, report harassment in their workplace and police violence. Some face charges they view as spurious and – after 18 months and counting – the charges have neither come to trial nor been dropped. That keeps them flagged in police databases, making every re-entry to Germany a stressful business of arbitrary delays and border police questions. For them, this is official Germany's intentional chilling effect for holding the 'wrong' views on Gaza. (A similar chilling effect, critics of Israel's Gaza war say, follows German efforts since November 2023 to outlaw every public utterance of 'from the river to the sea' as an illegal slogan supporting the proscribed Hamas group. In May a Berlin court dismissed one such prosecution as a politicised endeavour lacking evidence and any legal standing.) The colonial framing of the Gaza conflict, as popularised by Kneecap, gets an airing in Germany, particularly in universities, but others reject it as ill fit for the complexities of the conflict All of this is attracting outside attention. Last month the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, sent a two-page letter of concern to the Berlin federal government. Police violence, limits to freedom of assembly and 'the blanket classification of criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism', the letter warned, do a disservice to democracy and may even endanger it'. While German officials dismiss such concerns, campaigners are already collating information about the crackdown they see. And writer Maxim Biller has even devised a diagnosis for the motivation: Morbus Israel, Germany's Israel disorder. 'At the core of [this] neo-German Orient neurosis is, very loosely: Germans' disappointed love for their former victims,' he argued in a column for Die Zeit weekly. His polemical text was later removed from the Zeit website following protests over his description of the 'strategically correct but inhumane hunger blockade of Gaza'. [ An Irishman in Berlin: 'For Germans, everything is forbidden unless it allowed' Opens in new window ] As the conflict drags on, though, some Irish in Germany wonder – quietly and cautiously – if Ireland has a disorder of its own. Earlier in the conflict, before everything was eclipsed by the real and justified horror over children being starved – or shot dead by Israel soldiers – one Irish acquaintance asked: where was the Irish protest over Hamas contempt for – and human rights violations of – its own people? Given the unprecedented degradation in Gaza, such questions may seem like cynical what-aboutery. Yet another middle-aged Irish acquaintance, living in Germany as long as the Belfast Agreement, wondered aloud recently how Irish people, who resented the IRA killing people on their behalf, feel about Hamas doing the same for Palestinians? The colonial framing of the Gaza conflict, as popularised by Kneecap, gets an airing in Germany, particularly in universities, but others reject it as ill fit for the complexities of the conflict. After a strange start, Germany's debate has shifted radically in recent months. The popular Bild tabloid still ignores the reality in Gaza and denounces Palestinian solidarity marchers as 'Jew haters', but other outlets offer a broader and more challenging range of views. [ Israeli foreign minister finds shifting moods as he visits Berlin Opens in new window ] On Wednesday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily printed a harrowing 5,000-word report on the starve-or-be-shot reality in Gaza. A day later, it ran a full-page essay by French-Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz, asking 'Is anti-Zionism a form of anti-Semitism?' With large Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian communities, Germany's Israel-Gaza-Hamas debate is messy, emotional, confused and conflicted. A diverse range of voices compete to be heard, airing grievances which not all share but are nonetheless real. Two conflicts are playing out, as Berlin arms one side and tries to feed the other. Attempting to meet two non-negotiable postwar obligations – to Israel and human dignity – has created a domestic conflict of conscience with an equally unpredictable outcome. By comparison, many Irish living in Germany perceive Ireland's debate as Irish people telling other Irish people, at no personal cost and from a safe distance, how terrible things are for the Palestinians. A recent public television poll here asked who respondents feel is responsible for the plight of the civilian population in Gaza. Some 69 per cent said the Israeli government was fully or partly to blame while 71 per cent said the same of Hamas. How would a similar poll look in Ireland? Ireland and Germany hold competing views on the conflict, yet both have considerable credibility among Palestinians and Israelis respectively. How can our two countries leverage that good will for a better future in the Middle East? That is a debate worth having.
Arab News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Gaza marchers retreat to western Libya after being blocked
TUNIS: Pro-Palestinian activists on a march aiming to break Israel's Gaza blockade have retreated to the Misrata region of western Libya after being blocked by the authorities in the country's east, organizers said on Sunday. The 'Soumoud' convoy — meaning steadfastness in Arabic — decided to fall back near Misrata, about 200 km east of Tripoli, after being stopped by the eastern authorities. Misrata is administered by the UN-recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, while military commander Khalifa Haftar controls the east. The convoy of more than 1,000 people from Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia had been under a 'military blockade' since Friday at the entrance to Sirte, a Haftar-controlled area. Organizers said they were subjected to a 'systematic siege,' with no access to food, water, or medicine, and communications severely disrupted. They also denounced the arrest of several convoy members, including at least three bloggers who had been documenting its journey since its departure from Tunisia on June 9. In a statement cited by Tunisia's La Presse newspaper, the Joint Action Coordination Committee for Palestine — the group behind the convoy — demanded the immediate release of 13 participants still held by eastern Libyan authorities. In an accompanying video, it reaffirmed its intention to continue the mission to Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, with the aim of 'breaking the blockade and ending the genocide of the Palestinian people resisting in Gaza.' In Egypt, a separate initiative — the Global March to Gaza, intended to bring together participants from 80 countries — was halted on Friday by authorities en route to the city of Ismailia, east of Cairo. Dozens of activists were intercepted, reportedly beaten, had passports confiscated, and were forcibly loaded onto buses by police at multiple checkpoints, according to videos shared on social media and with AFP.
