Activist Greta Thunberg Joins Gaza-Bound Freedom Flotilla to Break Israel's Siege

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate campaigner, joined the aid flotilla that set sail for Gaza on Sunday afternoon, June 1, 2025. The 12-crew Madleen, a boat organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), departed from Sicily in a bid to challenge Israel's longstanding blockade on the Palestinian enclave.

The voyage came after another vessel operated by FFC, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters earlier last month, according to Al Jazeera. The group accused Israel of carrying out the attacks, which damaged the front section of the ship, to which Tel Aviv has yet to respond. 

The Freedom Flotilla group has sent ships to the besieged Gaza Strip for over a decade, in response to Israeli blockades in the enclave. The latest voyage marks the group's second attempt in as many months to reach the devastated territory.

“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Thunberg said, as quoted from Euronews on Tuesday, June 3. 

"Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide."

The activists expect to take seven days to reach their destination, if they are not stopped. The vessel is reportedly equipped with a live tracker, backed by UK-based Forensic Architecture, to document its route and potential targeting.

Greta Thunberg had initially planned to join last month's voyage, but the damage forced her to postpone. During the Sunday sail, she's joined by 11 other activists, including 'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham, Palestinian-American Lawyer Huwaida Arraf, and EU parliament member Rima Hassan.

Rima Hassan said the Madleen voyage is both a protest against Israel and an attempt to deliver critical aid to Gaza. "The first [goal] being of course to reject the blockade of humanitarian aid, the ongoing genocide, the impunity enjoyed by the State of Israel and to raise global international awareness," she said in a short video on social media, as quoted from The New Arab.

Hassan was due to visit the occupied Palestinian territories in February this year, but was barred from entering for her active opposition to Israel's onslaught on Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is a non-violent international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protests against Israel's blockade on Gaza. 

The group said the trip is not charity, but a "non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes."

Aid has begun trickling back into Gaza in recent days, after Israel's complete shutdown of humanitarian deliveries into the territory. 

Israel also recently introduced a controversial new aid delivery mechanism in partnership with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new US-backed organization, bypassing the longstanding UN-led coordination system. 

The aid rollout at GHF distribution centers is marred by chaotic scenes, with Israeli forces reportedly firing at Palestinians seeking aid, killing dozens. 

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