Freedom Flotilla Launches Gaza-Bound Aid Ship “Handala” After Israeli Seizure of “Madleen”
Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announced on Sunday that a new Gaza-bound aid ship, Handala, will depart from Italy next week to “break Israel’s illegal blockade,” just weeks after Israeli forces seized the Madleen and abducted 12 activists in international waters.
The FFC said in a statement that it will launch Handala, a “civilian boat setting out to challenge Israel’s illegal, deadly blockade of Gaza” on July 13.
The vessel will carry life-saving humanitarian aid and a “message of solidarity from people around the world refusing to stay silent as Gaza is starved, bombed, and buried under rubble.”
This mission comes just weeks after Israel’s illegal attack on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla boat seized by Israel in international waters. Twelve unarmed civilians, including a Member of the European Parliament, a doctor, journalists and human rights defenders, were abducted by Israeli commandos and taken against their will to Israel, where they were interrogated, abused, then deported.
“Their “crime”? Attempting to bring food, medicine, and solidarity to Palestinians under siege,” the FFC said.
The Handala is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a grassroots international network that has been sailing against the Israeli blockade since 2010.
On board will be volunteer medics, lawyers, social justice activists, journalists, and community organizers. “We are not governments. We are people, taking action where institutions have failed,” the FFC said.
The ship is named after Naji Al-Ali’s well-known political cartoon character, Handala. Handala is a ten-year-old Palestinian refugee child who turned his back on injustice and vowed not to turn around until Palestine is free.
“This boat carries his spirit, and that of every child in Gaza who has been denied safety, dignity, and joy. In 2023 and 2024,
‘Handala’ sailed to ports across northern Europe and the UK, breaking through the media blockade, engaging the public, and building solidarity through press events, art installations, and political education in every port it visited,” the FFC added.
