"To stop the genocide": two LFI elected officials will board a new boat to Gaza

Two LFI elected officials will board a new humanitarian boat bound for Gaza on July 18, announced Insoumise MP Gabrielle Cathala on Thursday July 10, a little over a month after the departure of the Madleen, another ship intercepted by Israel .

"For the children of Gaza, to break the humanitarian blockade, to stop the genocide, we are leaving next week on the Handala," a ship of the "Freedom Flotilla," an international nonviolent movement in support of Palestinians, she announced on X.

The MP stated that she would board the ship in Gallipoli on July 18, in southeastern Italy, with LFI MEP Emma Fourreau, "16 other crew members," and humanitarian aid. The ship will arrive a few days beforehand.

"It is certainly symbolic aid, but it is a peaceful humanitarian mission, and we want to keep our eyes fixed on Gaza during this summer period," she argued.

This initiative will take place a month and a half after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that left Italy on June 1 to "break the Israeli blockade" of Gaza, which is in the grip of a disastrous humanitarian situation after more than twenty months of war.

The sailboat then had on board 12 French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch activists, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg and LFI MEP Rima Hassan , who was detained three days after the interception of the ship, about 185 kilometers west of the Gaza coast.

This time, according to Gabrielle Cathala, the "Handala" is expected to carry, among others, American influencer and actor Jacob Berger, American trade unionist Chris Smalls, and American-Palestinian activist Huwaida Arraf, as well as passengers of other nationalities and "several journalists."

Israel, whose offensive began in the wake of the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, imposed a humanitarian blockade on the Palestinian territory in early March. This blockade has led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods, and has only been partially eased.