A flotilla carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg is currently sailing past the Greek island of Crete on a weeklong journey to Gaza to break Israel’s naval blockade, a tracker has shown.
The Madleen ship and its crew of 12 volunteers set off from Catania, Sicily on 1 June, carrying a nominal amount of humanitarian aid.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), responsible for the boat, says the trip is aimed at trying “to break Israel’s more than 17-year illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip”.
The 1,250-mile journey is expected to take seven days, provided there are no disruptions.
The ship’s location is being monitored live by Forensic Architecture and using a Garmin live tracker on board.
Who is on the boat?
Named after Gaza’s only female fisher, the vessel is carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan, among others.
Ms Thunberg shot to notoriety in 2018 when she decided to skip school as a 15-year-old in an attempt to persuade the Swedish parliament to take more action on climate change.
Speaking aboard the Madleen, Ms Thunberg told Middle East Eye: “We have promised ourselves and we have promised the Palestinian people to do everything we can.
“When our governments are failing us … then it falls on us to step up and be the adults in the room.
“We are just human beings, very concerned about what’s happening, and do not accept what is going on.”
The other activists on board the vessel are: Yasemin Acar (Germany), Baptiste Andre (France), Thiago Avila (Brazil), Omar Faiad (France), Pascal Maurieras (France) Yanis Mhamdi (France) Suayb Ordu (Turkiye), Sergio Toribio (Spain) Marco van Rennes (The Netherlands) and Reva Viard (France).
What is their plan?
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The FFC says the boat intends to spend at least seven days travelling to Gaza to break the naval blockade that has been in place since 2007.
There have been concerns that the boat may be attacked. Last month, another vessel operated by the FFC, the Conscience, was reportedly bombed by drones off Malta en route to Gaza. Ms Thunberg said at the time that she planned to board the boat in Malta.
The FFC accused Israel of carrying out the attacks. Israel did not respond to those accusations.
On 3 June, the FFC said that an Israel-made Hellenic Coastguard drone (IAI Heron UAV) was seen hovering over the Madleen.
In a statement shared on social media, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said: “At 11:12pm CEST+1, 68km away from Greek territorial waters, a drone began to hover above the ‘Madleen’. The drone is no longer there.”
What has Israel said?
Brigadier General Effie Edfrin, an Israeli army spokesperson, suggested Israel may confront the Madleen before it reaches the shores of the Gaza Strip.
“We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly,” he told reporters when asked about the vessel. “We are well prepared.”
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