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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
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3 min read | |
Israel vows to stop aid boat with Greta Thunberg and other activists on | |
board from reaching Gaza | |
By Abeer Salman and Oren Liebermann, CNN | |
Updated: | |
2:11 PM EDT, Sun June 8, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Israel vowed on Sunday to stop an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and | |
other activists on board from reaching Gaza. | |
As of Sunday evening, the UK-flagged civilian vessel was north of Egypt | |
in the Mediterranean Sea, slowly approaching the coast of Gaza. The | |
“” is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organization that | |
has campaigned against Israel’s blockade of Gaza and tried to break | |
the siege by boat. | |
“We know that it’s a very risky mission and we know that previous | |
experiences with flotillas like this have resulted in attacks, violence | |
and even cases of death,” on Saturday. | |
“But of course none of those risks are even remotely as high as the | |
risk that Palestinians are facing everyday just by trying to | |
survive.” | |
Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated that the Madleen, operated by | |
the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, would not make it to the besieged | |
enclave. | |
“I have instructed the IDF to ensure that the ‘Madleen’ flotilla | |
does not reach Gaza,” said Katz in a statement, referring to the name | |
of the ship. | |
Katz warned the ship that “you’d better turn back – because you | |
will not reach Gaza.” | |
Thunberg and the Madleen expect to reach Gaza within the next day, | |
organizer Yasemin Acar told CNN on Saturday. | |
“We are still on our way to Gaza. There’s no turning back, and | |
we’re hoping to make it into Gaza within two days,” Acar said. | |
The coalition campaigns to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza and has | |
tried to reach the enclave several times in the past | |
After an 11-week blockade that prevented any humanitarian aid from | |
entering Gaza, Israel has begun allowing a trickle of aid in once | |
again. | |
But it is only a fraction of the aid that entered the enclave before | |
the war, with humanitarian organizations warning of a worsening | |
humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of widespread famine. | |
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the | |
occupied Palestinian territories, said on social media that the | |
flotilla carries more than food. | |
“It is not only the aid, it is the HUMANITY THEY CARRY. For all of | |
us,” she said. | |
The crew, which has publicized the location of the ship with an online | |
tracker, began preparing for the possibility of interception by the | |
Israeli military. | |
Among those joining the crew are Rima Hassan, a French member of the | |
European Parliament, and “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham. | |
“From both a legal and moral standpoint, Israel has no right to | |
intercept this vessel,” the group said in a statement. | |
“The people of Gaza, under siege, starving, and facing the threat of | |
annihilation, have the legal right to decide who enters their | |
territories.” | |
Last month, another vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition came | |
under what its organizers said was an Israeli drone attack off the | |
coast of Malta in international waters. The group did not provide | |
evidence that the drone was Israeli, while the Israeli military has | |
declined to comment on the alleged attack. | |
The ship, the “Conscience,” was heading to Malta, where a large | |
contingent of activists were due to board before it departed for Gaza, | |
more than 1,000 miles away, but had not made it into port, the group | |
said. | |
The coalition told CNN that Thunberg was among those who were expected | |
to board the vessel in Malta. | |
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