A new ship in the "Freedom Flotilla" carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Syracuse, Sicily, on Sunday for Gaza, AFP reported, just over a month after Israel intercepted a previous vessel.
The Handala, a ship belonging to an international non-violent movement in support of Palestinians, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. GMT), with around 15 activists on board. It will attempt to reach Gaza after over 20 months of war.
The Madleen intercepted on its way to Gaza
(Foreing Ministry )
A few dozen people, some carrying Palestinian flags or keffiyehs, gathered at the port to cheer the ship's departure, chanting "Free Palestine," AFPTV reported.
The former Norwegian trawler, loaded with medical supplies, food, children's equipment and medicines, will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean Sea, traveling some 1,800 km to the coast of Gaza.
The expedition, paid for by fundraising campaigns, aims to "bring human and international solidarity to the Palestinian population of Gaza," Claude Léostic, coordinator of the Freedom Flotilla in France, explained to AFP on Saturday.
The boat will stop in Gallipoli, in southeastern Italy, where two elected officials from La France Insoumise (LFI), Gabrielle Cathala and Emma Fourreau, are scheduled to board on July 18.
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"This is a mission for the children in Gaza, to break the humanitarian blockade and to break the summer silence on the genocide," Gabrielle Cathala said. "I hope we'll reach Gaza, but if we don't, it will be yet another violation of international law" by Israel, she added.
The initiative comes six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that set sail from Italy on June 1 to "break the Israeli blockade" of Gaza.
The sailboat had 12 activists on board, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg and LFI MEP Rima Hassan, who was detained three days after the ship's interception, about 185 kilometers west of the Gaza coast.