Latest news with #SergioToribio
The National
25-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Freedom Flotilla ship 'surrounded by drones' as signal lost for 2 hours
On Thursday evening, the FFC claimed the Handala had its signals "jammed" and that it had lost all contact with the crew. The ship is heading towards Gaza, where it hopes to deliver much needed humanitarian aid. A statement from the FFC shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday said: "All communications with the Handala's crew have been jammed. READ MORE: 'Is this real?!': America reacts to The National's viral front page "We lost all contact with our crew, and there are multiple drones near the vessel." On Friday morning, the FFC provided an update and said contact had been lost for around two hours and that it was most likely due a global outage of Starlink satelites. "Connection has now been re-established. Handala is continuing its mission and is currently less than 349 nautical miles form Gaza," the FFC said. The coalition added that a number of drones remained in the vicinity. The Handala left its final stop before Gaza on July 20, and is expected to reach Gaza in a number of days if it is not intercepted. The ship is carrying 21 people on board, comprised of 19 citizens and two Al Jazeera journalists. READ MORE: LIVE: Latest updates as Donald Trump set to arrive in Scotland Among those on board Sergio Toribio, a Spanish engineer and environmental activist who was also part of the Madleen crew. There are several politicians and human rights activists on board, as well as British-French citizen Chloe Fiona Ludden, a former UN staff member and scientist. The crew members come from 11 different countries, although some hold dual citizenship: France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Morocco, Palestine, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Australia. It comes just weeks after the FFC's last aid ship, the Madleen, was intercepted by Israel while sailing in international waters. The Madleen was carrying 12 people onboard, including Swedish climate and social justice campaigner Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan. The ship was seized by Israeli forces on June 9 and the crew were taken to Israel, where they were detained before eventually being deported.
The National
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Who is on the Freedom Flotilla Handala ship to Gaza?
The Handala, named after a Palestinian cartoon figure, left its final stop at Gallipoli on Sunday, carrying 21 people on board. It comes just weeks after the FFC's last aid ship, the Madleen, was intercepted by Israel while sailing in international waters. The Madleen was carrying 12 people onboard, including Swedish climate and social justice campaigner Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan. READ MORE: IDF soldiers 'arrested at Tomorrowland festival over war crimes', campaign says The ship was seized by Israeli forces on June 9 and the crew were taken to Israel, where they were detained before eventually being deported. The Handala ship is bigger than the Madleen, carrying 19 citizens and two Al Jazeera journalists. Among those on board Sergio Toribio, a Spanish engineer and environmental activist who was also part of the Madleen crew. There are several politicians and human rights activists on board, as well as British-French citizen Chloe Fiona Ludden, a former UN staff member and scientist. The crew members come from 11 different countries, although some hold dual citizenship: France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Australia. The ship – which is registered under the name Navarn – appears to be flying a Red Ensign flag, meaning it is under UK jurisdiction. See the full list of crew members below. Who is on the Freedom Flotilla Handala ship to Gaza? Ange Sahuquet (France): Engineer and human rights activist Emma Fourreau (France / Sweden): French MEP and human rights activist Gabrielle Cathala (France): French parliamentarian and former humanitarian worker Justine Kempf (France): Nurse with "médecin du monde" Antionio La Picirella (Italy): Climate and social justice organiser Antionio Mazzeo (Italy): Teacher, peace researcher and journalist Santiago Gonzalez Vallejo (Spain): Economist and human rights activist Sergio Toribio (Spain): Engineer and environmental activist Bob Suberi (United States): Jewish US war veteran Braedon Peluso (United States): Seasoned sailor activist Christian Smalls (United States): Founder of the Amazon Labor Union Jacob Berger (United States): Jewish-American activist and creator Waad Aal Musa (United States): Al Jazeera journalist Dr Frank Romano (United States / France): International lawyer and actor Huwaida Arraf (United States / Palestine): Human rights attorney, Freedom Flotilla Coalition steering committee member Chloe Fiona Ludden (United Kingdom / France): Former UN staff member and scientist Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway): Grandmother and human rights activist Hatem Aouini (Turkey): Trade unionist and internationalist activist Mohamed El Bakkali (Morocco): Al Jazeera journalist Robert Martin (Australia): Human rights activist Tan Safi (Australia): Filmmaker and human rights activist Freedom Flotilla tracker You can track the progress of the Handala in real-time via the FFC's online tracker. The tracker is available here. The FFC will also be sharing regular updates on their social media channels.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Live updates: Israel attacks Yemeni port city of Hodeida
The Israeli navy attacked docks in Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, likely damaging facilities that are key to aid shipments to the hungry, war-wracked nation. The Israeli military said navy missile ships conducted the strikes, the first time its forces have been involved in attacks against the Houthi rebels. Tuesday's attack comes as the Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones targeting Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis announced the attack via their al-Masirah satellite news channel. They said the attack targeted docks there, without elaborating. ___ Here's the latest: Spanish activist slams Gaza-bound boat's interception after being deported by Israel Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was on the Gaza-bound ship seized by Israel, arrived in Barcelona Tuesday after being deported. Speaking to reporters upon his arrival, he slammed Israel's interception of the boat. 'It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters.' he said. He continued: 'We weren't doing anything wrong, we were just carrying provisions as a symbolic gesture.' Spanish media described Toribio as a 49-year-old ship mechanic. Israeli military says it intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza Strip The Israeli military says it intercepted a projectile fired from the northern Gaza Strip that set off air raid sirens in nearby Israeli communities. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Rocket fire from Gaza has grown rare as Israel's 20-month military campaign has depleted the military capabilities of Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Palestinians say Israeli forces fired toward crowd near Gaza aid site, killing 3 Palestinian health officials and witnesses say Israeli forces fired toward crowds making their way to a food distribution point in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing three people. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Awda Hospital in central Gaza, which received the casualties, said two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded. The Associated Press spoke to two witnesses who said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds at around 2 a.m. hundreds of meters (yards) from the aid site. Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel's blockade and military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. Around 130 people have been killed in a number of shootings near aid sites run by a new Israeli and U.S.-backed organization. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety. French foreign minister says 1 detained French activist signed expulsion order and will leave Israel French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists who was on a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel signed an expulsion order and will leave Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused and will await court decisions in the coming days. In a separate post on X, Barrot said the five will face a 'forced expulsion.' All six received consular visits overnight around 3 a.m., he said, as did the other activists aboard the ship. The French detainees were transferred overnight to a detention center in the Israeli city of Ramle, he said, and may receive another consular visit there. Israel deports Greta Thunberg after seizing the ship she was on Activist Greta Thunberg is being deported from Israel, Israel's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying that she was headed for France. Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza. The activists said they were protesting the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel says such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza. The Associated Press
