Currently Online 
Freedom Flotilla sends third ship to break Israel’s siege of Gaza
The coalition of pro-Palestine activists has launched the ship Handala from Italy on a journey towards Gaza.
Maria Elena, a member of the crew, said the group “will not stop until the siege is broken and Palestine is liberated”.
After the live broadcast on social media from the coastal city of Syracuse on Sicily, the ship, loaded with humanitarian aid, sailed towards the besieged enclave.
In May, the Freedom Flotilla dispatched Conscience, which was hit by Israeli-linked drones in international waters off Malta. There were no casualties, but the ship had to stop its mission.
In early June, Israeli soldiers stopped the Madleen, the next ship sent by the coalition, in international waters, boarded it and arrested those on board before taking them to Israel and then forcing them to leave. Those on board included Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament from France.
Two French members of parliament to join Gaza-bound Handala
As we reported earlier, a coalition of pro-Palestine activists has launched the ship Handala from Italy on a journey towards Gaza. The former Norwegian trawler vessel that is now loaded with medical supplies and other life-saving humanitarian aid bound for Gaza is to be boarded by two French lawmakers.
Handala will make a stop at Gallipoli in southeastern Italy, where two members of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI), Gabrielle Cathala and Emma Fourreau, are expected to join.
“This is a mission for the children in Gaza, to break the humanitarian blockade and to break the summer silence on the genocide,” said Cathala, who is set to board the boat on July 18.
“I hope we will reach Gaza, but if not, it will be yet another violation of international law” by Israel, she added.
