The Madleen set off from Sicily, Italy on the 1st of June, with hopes of reaching Gaza by the 7th. The Madleen is part of the Freedom Flotilla fleet set up originally in 2010 to break the Israeli military blockade on Gaza by providing aid and construction materials. The Madleen aimed to do the same, now 15 years later.
The 12-person crew includes climate and humanitarian activist Greta Thunberg and French- Palestinian member of European parliament Rima Hassan. The crew aimed to sail to and break the current blockade on Gaza; a technique Israel has frequently employed upon the area.
The boat, carrying a variety of aid such as nappies, medical supplies and sanitary products, aimed to dock in Gaza and begin the immediate distribution of aid and to create a humanitarian corridor.
The Madleens’ mission corresponds with the returning of British medical personnel from Gaza. NHS doctor Victoria Rose has been outspoken on her return to Britain on the conditions she experienced in one of the final active hospitals in the Gaza strip; Nasser hospital.
Dr Rose is a plastic surgeon and spent her time in Gaza primarily treating children. She described the impact the “indiscriminate” bombing has on the children of Gaza. In one month of 2024, she recalled having 20 children on her patent list in need of reconstructive surgeries. More recently, she stayed for 3 weeks and had 34 patents.
She described the children of Gaza as “chronically malnourished” and stated upon her return that what Gaza needed the most now was “large quantities” of “unrestricted” aid.
The Madleen and its crew have faced criticism for their aims. U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham posted about the Freedom Flotilla on social media, with the caption “hope Greta and her friends can swim!” The comment was met with particular concern due to the bombing of the freedom flotilla ‘Conscience’ only a month prior, where four volunteers were left injured.
Additionally, in 2010, the Israeli military raided the Mavi Marmara – a ship a part of the original flotilla. The raid left 10 Turkish volunteers dead after the Israeli forces used live fire upon boarding the ship. Reasons for their switch to live fire are still unknown as a UN investigation was unable to identify what caused the escalation.
The Madleen reported drone activity over the boat for the majority of its journey. The Israeli defence minister instructed the military to prevent the docking of the madleen.
“You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.” Warned Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz.
On the 9th day of their journey, the Madleen was intercepted and boarded by the Israeli military, while still in international waters. All 12 volunteers were detained by the Israeli military and no aid was allowed to enter Gaza.
