Activist aid ship 'Madleen' nears Gaza after reaching Egypt coast

Cairo: An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is nearing Gaza, having reached the Egyptian coast, organisers said.

The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies “to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza”.

“We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast,” German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. “We are all good.”

Acar said the ship is now near Egypt’s Alexandria coast and expects to reach Gaza by Monday morning.

“We’re about 288 miles away — which means by Sunday evening we will likely be near Gaza’s territorial waters,” she added.

The ship’s crew nonetheless reported a series of drone sightings during the voyage.

According to a video posted by the coalition on its social media platforms, a Hellenic Coast Guard Heron drone flew over the Madleen on Tuesday evening.

Hours later, two other drones — believed to be operated by the EU border agency Frontex — approached the vessel. Another drone visited in the early hours of Thursday.

Activists said the crew remains safe but believes the drone surveillance was intended to intimidate them.

“We are fully aware of the potential consequences,” Acar said.

She added that the Madleen is sailing under a UK flag and approaching Gaza’s territorial waters, which she described as “occupied by Israel”.

“If Israel attacks us, it would be yet another war crime.”

“We would not be on this mission if we did not believe we could reach Gaza.”

– Safe passage –

In London, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza — a member organisation of the flotilla coalition — said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board.

It warned that any interception would be “a blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.

European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the boat, urged governments to “guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla”.

She also said more than 200 European lawmakers have signed an open letter to Israel calling for the Madleen to be allowed to reach Gaza and for the “immediate entry of its humanitarian cargo”.

In a statement on Friday, Amnesty International described the voyage as an “important solidarity initiative” and said there was “no justification” for obstructing humanitarian aid amid what it called “one of the worst manmade humanitarian disasters in the world”.

Aboard the boat are nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands.

In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route to Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties.

Israel has enforced a naval blockade on Gaza for years before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war in the Palestinian territory.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was founded in 2010 to oppose this blockade and deliver humanitarian aid.

Alongside the flotilla, the Global March to Gaza — another international initiative aiming to draw attention to the blockade — is preparing a coordinated campaign.

The two groups have formed a joint committee to synchronise their efforts.

The Global March to Gaza plans to gather in Cairo on June 12 before travelling by bus a day later to Al-Arish near Egypt’s border with Gaza.

From there, over 2,700 participants from more than 50 countries will walk on foot to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, camping there for a few days before returning to Cairo on June 19, organisers told AFP.

Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned that the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine.