Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht “Madleen” is docked in Ashdod port following a takeover by the Israeli army, in Ashdod, Israel, June 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nir Elias

i24 News – A new boat from the “Freedom Flotilla,” the Handala, left Syracuse in Sicily this Sunday, bound for the Gaza Strip.

Loaded with medical supplies, food, equipment for children, and medicine, this former Norwegian trawler is carrying around fifteen pro-Palestinian activists. The objective is to “break the Israeli blockade” and provide humanitarian aid to Gazans in need.

The departure, which was celebrated by dozens of people at the dock waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine,” comes six weeks after Israel intercepted a previous ship, the Madleen, which was carrying, among others, Greta Thunberg and European Union parliamentarian Rima Hassan. The Handala will stop in Gallipoli, Turkey where Gabrielle Cathala and Emma Fourreau, two other lawmakers from Hassan’s party, France Insoumise, will join the expedition on July 18. The former is a parliamentarian in France, while the latter serves alongside Hassan in the European Union assembly.

“This is a mission for the children of Gaza, to break the blockade and the silence about the genocide,” said Cathala, denouncing a possible “yet another violation of international law” if the boat is stopped.

Funded by donations, this initiative aims to support the population of Gaza. “We want to show international solidarity,” explained Claude Léostic, the French coordinator of the flotilla.