Activist aid ship Madleen nears Gaza after reaching Egypt coast: organisers
The Hindu
Greta Thunberg and activists aboard aid ship near Gaza, challenging Israeli blockade, sparking international attention and support.
An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organisers said on Saturday (June 7, 2025).
The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies "to break Israel's blockade on Gaza".
"We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. "We are all good," she added.
In a statement from London on Saturday (June 7, 2025), the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza -- a member organisation of the flotilla coalition -- said the ship had entered Egyptian waters.
The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law".
European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to "guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla."
The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war and Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past.
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