Break the Siege - Madleen

Catania, Sicily, Italy | June 1, 2025 – Today at 16:00 GMT+2 the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) launched the Madleen, a civilian ship now sailing toward Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct defiance of Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade.

Named after Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman in 2014, Madleen symbolizes the unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies. Her launch comes just one month after Israeli drones bombed Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla aid ship, in international waters off the coast of Malta—underscoring both the urgency and the danger of this mission to break the siege on Gaza.

On board are volunteers from multiple countries, among them Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, and climate justice activist Greta Thunberg. The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics.

Fifteen years ago, Israel carried out an unlawful and deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara, in which ten humanitarian volunteers were killed while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. This mission is a continuation of that legacy—a refusal to surrender to silence, fear, or complicity. The siege on Gaza is maintained not just by Israeli firepower, but by global inaction. Despite the risks, we believe that direct, civil resistance still matters —that active solidarity, can shift the moral compass of the world. That is why Madleen sails.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition emphasizes that this is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed, united by the shared belief that Palestinians deserve the same rights, freedom, and dignity as all people.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition calls on:

Governments to guarantee safe passage for Madleen and all humanitarian vessels

Media outlets to report on this mission with accuracy and integrity

People of conscience everywhere to reject silence and take action for Gaza

We will not be deterred. We will not be silenced.

Voices from the Madleen

“I am aboard Madleen because silence is not neutrality—it is complicity, The Palestinian people in Gaza are being starved and slaughtered, and the world watches. This ship is not just carrying aid, it is carrying a demand: End the blockade. End the genocide.” Rima Hassan

“We are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. The world cannot be silent bystanders, Every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine.”
Greta Thunberg

On board the ‘Madleen’ (in alphabetical order) are:

Yasemin Acar – Germany
Baptiste Andre – France
Thiago Avila – Brazil
Omar Faiad – France
Rima Hassan – France
Pascal Maurieras- France
Yanis Mhamdi – France
Şuayb Ordu – Turkey
Greta Thunberg – Sweden
Sergio Toribio – Spain
Marco Van Rennes – The Netherlands
Reva Viard – France