On June 1, 2025, climate change activist Greta Thunberg (center in the photo) stands next to a Palestinian flag on the ship Madeleine, part of the ‘Freedom Flotilla Coalition’. According to foreign media and Yonhap News, a ship carrying 12 civil activists, including Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, is approaching the coast of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military, which is blockading the Gaza Strip, has announced that it will not allow the ship to land, raising concerns about the safety of the activists on board.
According to AFP on the 7th (local time), the Madeleine, a sailing ship belonging to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from Catania on the island of Sicily, Italy, on the 1st with relief supplies for the residents of Gaza. The ship passed the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, on the 7th and is said to be sailing smoothly according to German human rights activist Yasemin Acar. She added that the ship is expected to enter the territorial waters of Gaza on the evening of the 8th and arrive in Gaza on the morning of the 9th.
Activists aboard the ship include nationals from Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands. They reported seeing several drones during their voyage. On the evening of the 3rd, a drone from the Greek Coast Guard passed over the Madeleine, and a few hours later, two drones believed to be operated by the European Union’s border and coast guard, Frontex, approached the ship. Another drone approached the Madeleine early on the morning of the 5th.
Those on board claimed that the drones were conducting surveillance to intimidate them. Acar stated that the Madeleine, sailing under the British flag, is approaching the “Israeli-occupied” territorial waters of Gaza, warning that if Israel attacks, it would constitute another war crime.
The London-based ‘International Committee to End the Gaza Blockade’, a member organization of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, maintained contact with international legal and human rights organizations for the safety of those on board, stating that blocking the ship would be “a serious violation of international human rights law.”
European Parliament (EP) member Lima Hassan, on board the ship, urged governments to “ensure the safe passage of the Freedom Flotilla”. Hassan explained that around 200 EP members sent an open letter to Israel urging permission for the Madeleine to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid.
Last month, the conscience ship, part of the Freedom Flotilla, was attacked by drones while en route to Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels. There were no reports of casualties at that time.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was established in 2010 to oppose Israel’s blockade of the coast of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid. Israel has blockaded the coast of Gaza long before the Gaza war began with Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, and has decided not to allow the Madeleine to land in Gaza.
A separate organization named ‘The Global March to Gaza’ plans to depart Cairo, Egypt, on the 12th, travel by bus to Al-Arish near the Egypt-Gaza border, and conduct a march with 2,700 participants from over 50 countries to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Participants will camp for several days before returning to Cairo around the 19th. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Global March have formed a joint committee to coordinate activities.