{"id":168534,"date":"2025-06-08T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/168534\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T21:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:03:09","slug":"aid-boat-madleen-en-route-to-gaza-hit-by-israeli-internet-blockade-in-international-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/168534\/","title":{"rendered":"Aid boat Madleen en route to Gaza hit by Israeli internet blockade in international waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

JERUSALEM \/ ISTANBUL <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yasemin Acar, a human rights activist and press coordinator for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) aboard the non-profit’s Madleen, said Israel had begun to disrupt their internet access as they are hours away from reaching the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Anadolu from the Madleen, the aid boat that departed from southern Italy with the goal of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenging Israel\u2019s blockade, Acar said \u201cwe have just been notified by our land team that our internet jamming has started officially and we can definitely see this from our connection because it has slowed down immensely and that means we could be cut out from the world any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the vessel was currently 116 nautical miles from Gaza, still in international waters, and warned that communication with the outside world could be severed any time.<\/p>\n

Addressing legal and humanitarian implications of a possible military response, Acar said: \u201cWe are in international waters heading towards the waters of the Gaza territory and if anything was to happen to us, meaning if the IDF would show violence against the humanitarian mission carrying humanitarian aid, this would be yet another war crime because we are not in their territories.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalled prior Israeli actions against similar missions, including the 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara, which killed 10 activists, and the recent drone strike on the FFC\u2019s Conscience vessel near Malta on May 2.<\/p>\n

\u2018The next 24 hours are very crucial\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

After eight days at sea, the crew intends to reach Gaza by Monday morning, given that there is no interference. As of now, Israel has made no direct or indirect contact with the vessel.<\/p>\n

Acar stressed the urgency of their mission, emphasizing that \u201cthe next 24 hours are very crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 12-person crew remains in high spirits, Acar said, highlighting the presence of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Madleen is just a small fraction of a global uprising,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She criticized the silence of the international community in the face of Israel\u2019s aggression and blockade, saying \u201cthe international community has stayed silent in the face of this illegal blockade. We’ve been saying this for many, many years and for the past days, we are a non-violent action. We carry no weapons. We are not looking for violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their mission, she said, is simple and urgent. \u201cAll we are looking for is to bring this aid to the starving population in the face of a world being silent about it and shipping weapons instead of shipping humanitarian aid and lifting the illegal blockade on Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

Threats to Madleen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered on Sunday the military to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Israeli Navy is preparing to intercept the humanitarian vessel as it approaches Gaza\u2019s waters, with plans to forcibly redirect it to Ashdod port.<\/p>\n

Sharing a photo of his meeting with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and naval commanders, Katz said: \u201cI have instructed the Israeli military to do whatever is necessary to prevent the Madleen hate flotilla from reaching Gaza. I am clearly telling the anti-Semitic Greta and Hamas propaganda spokespeople: Turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madleen\u2019s voyage<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of the latest mission organized by the FFC to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid to the region, the 18-meter sailing boat Madleen set sail for Gaza on June 1 from the Port of San Giovanni Li Cuti in Catania, Sicily, Italy.<\/p>\n

A total of 12 people are on board the Madleen, including 11 activists and one journalist. Among them are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan; Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from T\u00fcrkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.<\/p>\n

The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women\u2019s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children\u2019s prosthetics, according to its organizers.<\/p>\n


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