Video: Gaza Freedom Flotilla to restart aid voyage with new vessel after Israeli bombing

The ‘Madleen’ will set sail from Catania, Italy in a few days

At the beginning of this month, the Israeli military – enabled by the government of Malta – used drones controlled from an Israeli military aircraft circling for hours in Maltese airspace to bomb the Conscience, the aid vessel sailing for Gaza as part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to break Israel’s starvation blockade of Gaza that has pushed a million children into famine and has put more than 300,000 children to the brink of death from starvation.

The vessel was badly damaged, set on fire and holed in its hull, yet it took Maltese authorities days to decide whether they would offer the assistance required by international law, while it also blocked attempts to gain access to the ship for a United Nations investigation into the bombing. Thankfully, none of the crew was badly injured. It was not the first time Israel has attacked the Flotilla. It murdered ten crew members of a 2009 vessel attempting to bring aid to Gaza.

Now, the Freedom Flotilla has prepared a new ship – the Madleen – which is about to sail from Catania in Italy to resume the aid voyage:

International lawyer Luigi Daniele, in a video published by the Freedom Flotilla, laid out the legal basis for the Flotilla’s mission and exposed the inaction of EU states in the face of their clear and urgent obligations under international humanitarian law:

In a statement, the Freedom Flotilla condemned the complicity of western governments in Israel’s genocide in Gaza:

As Gaza endures relentless bombing and deliberate starvation, world governments remain complicit through their silence. Ordinary people are stepping up where states have failed.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is setting sail once again—despite repeated efforts to block it—to break the siege and open a sea corridor to Gaza.

The group has also urged supporters to raise awareness of the vessel and its mission to put pressure on politicians and media to stop ignoring the vessel’s humanitarian mission and their own clear obligations under international law to break the starvation blockade and to intervene to stop Israel’s genocide:

We urge media, press and supporters to join us in Catania, Sicily – your coverage and solidarity is critical in helping ensure our safety. March with us. Make noise with us. Show the world that Europe will not be silent. Share our content.

Make it impossible for every politician, for the European Union and media to ignore what is happening in Gaza. Make it impossible for them to ignore the voice of the people, to ignore this mission, and to ignore this moment.

Follow the Gaza Freedom Flotilla here and send your support.

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