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Freedom Flotilla

European Dockworkers And Medics To Join Global Sumud Flotilla

August 30, 2025 Ana Vracar, People's Dispatch. , , ,
Delegations from at least 17 European countries are preparing to join the Global Sumud Flotilla, which will set sail on Sunday, August 31, in a new attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Many of the crew members taking part in this effort to deliver urgently needed supplies have already been active in Palestine solidarity campaigns in their own countries over the past years. For them, joining the flotilla is a logical step in confronting Israel’s ongoing genocide. Belgian physician Hanne Bosselaers, active with Medics for the People (MPLP–GVHV) and the People’s Health Movement (PHM), emphasized that it is impossible to remain idle while a genocide unfolds in Palestine. Like other PHM members who will also be on board, including British emergency doctor James Smith and Moroccan health activist Aziz Rhali, Bosselaers has long worked with Palestinian health organizations and highlighted the resilience and determination of Gaza’s health workers.

The Global Sumud Flotilla

August 28, 2025 Wahid Ben Ali, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
In July 2025, a new international maritime initiative was launched: the Global Sumud Flotilla. It was formed by four major coalitions: the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Maghreb Sumud Convoy, and the Southeast Asian Nusantara Sumud Initiative. The Global Sumud Flotilla is set to depart on August 31, 2025. Its goal is clear: to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza, to deliver urgent humanitarian aid, and to expose the genocidal war waged on Palestinians.  The flotilla is composed of dozens of small civilian vessels carrying activists, parliamentarians, doctors, and trade unionists, alongside humanitarian cargo.

‘Largest Civilian Flotilla In History’ To Set Sail For Gaza

August 5, 2025 News Desk, The Cradle. , , , ,
Activists from 44 countries plan to launch the largest civilian flotilla in history at the end of August in an effort to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the starving population of the enclave.  The Global Sumud Flotilla, along with three allied initiatives, will send dozens of boats from Spanish ports on 31 August and Tunisian ports on 4 September, aiming to establish a humanitarian corridor and confront what organizers call Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. “This summer, dozens of boats, both large and small, will set sail from ports across the world, converging on Gaza in the largest civilian flotilla of its kind in history,” said organizer Haifa Mansouri.

For Media, Trying To Help Gazans Survive Turns Heroes Into Zeroes

August 3, 2025 Jim Naureckas, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. , , , ,
Last week, Smalls took on another Goliath. As part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, he tried to deliver life-saving aid—including food and baby formula—to the people of Gaza, who are suffering from a severe famine deliberately engineered by the Israeli government. The Handala, the ship carrying the aid, was illegally seized in international waters by Israel’s military, and Smalls was singled out for violence, choked and kicked by Israeli soldiers, apparently because he’s Black. Past attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza have been dealt with even more harshly by Israel: In 2010, 57 activists aboard the aid ship Mavi Marmara were shot—nine of them killed—on their way to Gaza.

Final Two Handala Volunteers Freed From Israeli Occupation Prison

July 31, 2025 Freedom Flotilla. , , , , ,
This morning, the final two Handala volunteers held in Givon Prison–Christian Smalls from the United States and Hatem Aouini from Tunisia–were freed via Jordan’s King Hussein/Allenby Bridge after five days of unlawful imprisonment in occupied Palestine. Both had been on hunger strike to protest mistreatment. Aouini was received by the Tunisian embassy at the border. Despite repeated requests for assistance, neither the U.S. Consulate nor U.S. Embassy officials met Christian at the border, even after being notified in advance of his arrival details.

Detainment Of Chris Smalls: White Supremacy At The Core Of Zionism

July 31, 2025 Black Alliance for Peace, Popular Resistance. , , , , ,
The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) unequivocally denounces the brutal assault and abduction of Amazon Labor Union co-founder Chris Smalls, who was detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Though he is now released, the exceptionally heinous treatment of Smalls by the Zionist state forces demonstrates the historical neurotic fear of any interconnection between Black / African resistance to white supremacy and resistance to capitalist exploitation. As part of the 21-member international collective aboard the aid ship Handala, a flotilla that was headed to Gaza to protest and break the blockade on the Palestinian people collectively being starved to death, Smalls was the only member of the group beaten and choked by IDF agents.

US Embassy-Israel Consular Officials Have NOT Visited Citizens From Flotilla

July 30, 2025 Ann Wright, former US Diplomat, Popular Resistance. , , , , ,
As a former US diplomat charged with the protection of US citizens outside the U.S., I am appalled that no officials from the US Embassy in Israel have made visits to Givon prison in Israel to check on the welfare of the seven US citizens from the Gaza flotilla ship Handala who have been imprisoned for over four days. Officials from other countries whose citizens were on the Handala have made visits to the prison to talk in person about their welfare, conditions and treatment in the prison and treatment by Israeli commandos when the ship was boarded in international waters on July 26, 2025 and US citizens taken against their will to Israel and then charged with illegally entering Israel. There were 7 US citizens on the Handala. 

Freedom Flotilla ‘The Handala’ Detainees Refuse Deportation And Food

July 29, 2025 Adalah, The Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel. , , , ,
Hearings concluded at Givon Prison, concerning the continued detention of the 14 volunteers who were aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship Handala and refused to consent to an expedited deportation process. The volunteers are on hunger strike. The hearings were held by the Detention Review Tribunal at Givon Prison facility in Ramleh and lasted over six hours. Adalah attorneys Dr. Suhad Bishara and Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi represented the volunteers before the tribunal.   During the hearings, the volunteers stressed that their mission was humanitarian—motivated by the need to act against Israel’s illegal siege and the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Adalah Demands Immediate Release Of 21 Activists Aboard The ‘Handala’

July 28, 2025 Adalah, The Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel. , , , , , ,
Israeli forces intercepted the Handala in international waters at around midnight (Israel time) on 27 July 2025 and contact with the activists was lost. This peaceful civilian mission was dedicated to the children of Gaza and named after the Palestinian national symbol Handala, created by political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, who represents a barefoot refugee child who turned his back on injustice and vowed not to face the world again until Palestinian refugees are allowed to return to their homeland. This ship, which sailed as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC), is part of the coalition’s ongoing efforts to break Israel’s illegal and deadly blockade on the Palestinian people in Gaza, amid the ongoing genocide and deliberate starvation imposed on Gaza’s population.

Reflections From My Time On The Handala

July 26, 2025 Dr. Yipeng Ge, Rabble. , , , ,
I spent the past week with the Handala freedom flotilla team. I was planning on supporting and sending off the Handala boat from Siracusa, Italy. Last minute, I was offered the opportunity to join the Handala boat as it sailed from Siracusa, Italy to Gallipoli, Italy. Spending time with the crew and ground team was incredibly inspiring and hopeful. It was the honour of a lifetime and I made memories that I will treasure forever. We held each other in our collective grief, sorrow, and rage for Gaza and for Palestine. We were actively translating this into action and solidarity work for Gaza and for Palestine.

La Via Campesina Joins The Handala Mission

July 23, 2025 La Via Campesina. , , , ,
When governments normalize genocide and institutions retreat behind silence, it is the duty of peoples’ movements to act. As famine ravages Gaza under a suffocating siege and global inaction deepens, La Via Campesina, the international movement of over 200 million peasants, landless workers, and food producers, has launched a new phase of direct solidarity by joining the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s Handala ship. This mission comes on the heels of La Via Campesina’s participation in the Sumoud Convoy in June 2025 a bold land initiative that sought to break the siege via Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

Attempts At Sabotage Of Flotilla Ship ‘Handala’ Hours before Sailing To Gaza

July 20, 2025 Colonel (ret) Ann Wright, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Mere hours before the Gaza flotilla ship Handala was to sail with 21 participants on board, in the Italian port of Gallipoli, two attempts to sabotage the ship were made. The Freedom Flotilla coalition stated in its Instagram: “Just hours before departure, the ‘Handala’ faced two alarming incidents: a rope wrapped around the propeller and a delivery labeled as water that contained a corrosive chemical, injuring crew members. These may be calculated attempts to harm us and stop our mission. We will not be intimidated. We sail for the children of Gaza—against siege, starvation, and slaughter. We sail to break Israel’s illegal blockade and deliver life-saving aid and hope.

Freedom Flotilla’s Handala Begins Its Journey To Gaza

July 14, 2025 Freedom Flotilla Coalition. , , , , ,
Siracusa, Italy, July 13, 2025 — Today, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announces that Handala, our civilian aid boat, has officially set sail from Siracusa, Italy and begun its journey to Gaza. This marks a bold step in our ongoing effort to challenge Israel’s illegal, deadly blockade of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The boat carries life-saving humanitarian aid and a message of solidarity from people around the world refusing to stay silent as Gaza is starved, bombed, and buried under rubble. This mission comes just weeks after Israel’s illegal attack on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla boat, which was violently seized in international waters.

Freedom Flotilla To Sail Again With New Mission

July 13, 2025 Ana Vracar, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
Only weeks after the crew of the boat Madleen was intercepted and abducted in international waters by Israeli occupation forces, the Freedom Flotilla coalition is preparing to set sail again. The Handala, carrying essential supplies including food and medicines, will begin its voyage from Italy on July 13, with 18 crew members on board, including trade unionists and parliamentarians such as US labor organizer Christian Smalls, French MEP Emma Fourreau, and MP Gabrielle Cathala. Michele Borgia, spokesperson for Freedom Flotilla Italy, told Peoples Dispatch that beyond the Flotilla’s consistent message of solidarity with the Palestinian people under siege, this mission has an additional focus: the children of Gaza.

Why Would The Tiny Nation, Palau, Be Complicit In Israeli Genocide?

July 11, 2025 Colonel Ann Wright (Ret), Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Why would the tiny western Pacific island nation of Palau with a population of only 21,862 allow itself to be complicit in the Israeli genocide of three times its own population, now over 60,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza and tens of thousands of Palestinians unaccounted for under the rubble? I doubt if anyone in Palau realizes what the Palau government did in their name to make them complicit in a genocide. The question of complicity in the genocide swirls around who made the decision and why for Palau to take away the certification and flag of Gaza bound ship "Conscience, " a ship that had had the Palau certification for over twelve months.
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