Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists set sail for Gaza on the ship Madleen to break Israel’s blockade

The Madleen, operated by the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from Catania, Italy, on Sunday, June 1.

The purpose of the mission is to help raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis and deliver aid to the people and children in Gaza, per The Mirror.

Activist Thiago Avila added that they are ‘breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, as part of a broader strategy of mobilisations’ to address the blockade.

“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, fighting back tears during her speech.

Thunberg goes on: “And, no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.”

The young activist has always been very vocal concerning Israel’s war on Gaza, so seeing her board the ship doesn’t come as a surprise. Joining her are the Game of Thrones actor, Liam Cunningham, and European parliamentarian Rima Hassan. The latter was denied entry to Israel earlier this year for her outspoken opposition to Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The Freedom Coalition’s last humanitarian sailing mission to Gaza wasn’t successful after the ship was allegedly attacked by two drones. The activist group blamed Israel for the attack which damaged the ship ‘Conscience’ in early May.

This time around the journey is expected to take seven days, assuming there is no interference. The other activists include Şuayb Ordu, Mark van Rennes, Omar Faiad, Pascal Maurieras, Reva Viard, Rima Hassan, Sergio Toribio, Thiago Ávila, Yanis Mhamdi, Yasemin Acar.