Right, so the Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission to deliver aid to Gaza and break the Israeli blockade looked pretty down and out as a mission that they had kept low key and hush hush was attacked in a drone strike just off the Maltese coast in international waters, an incident that has now been confirmed as the cause of the ship Conscience becoming crippled and unable to proceed, widely surmised to have been an Israeli attack despite being off the coast of Malta, with Malta’s obfuscation nad blocking of both aid and investigation making them look very much a guilty party to this attack as well.
Well you can’t keep good activists down it seems and with a new ship, the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is making another attempt having just launched today at time of writing, departing this time from Sicily, they’re doing so not in an understated manner, but with well known figures from the world of activism, to acting to politics aboard to make this mission now as high profile as possible, and making any potential attack on this trip therefore a logistical and political minefield for Israel. So will this aid get through, or will Israel jump to even greater heights of depravity and condemnation?
Right, so the Madleen, the latest vessel belonging to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has now slipped from the Sicilian coast into the Mediterranean, carrying not only humanitarian supplies destined for the besieged people of Gaza but also the hopes of countless global citizens demanding justice and accountability against Israel for their ongoing atrocities and war crimes. This voyage is not just another leg in the long-standing humanitarian campaign against Israel’s inhumane blockade of Gaza, not just another underreported attempt by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, or FFC, to draw attention to the plight of Gaza as they have attempted on several occasions for well over a decade—this time it is a defiant, high-profile challenge to not just Israel, but to an international system that has repeatedly turned a blind eye to violations of human rights and international law, disgusting so many people around the world who’s eyes have now been opened to the evils of the apartheid state and their actions towards people who’s lands they have illegally occupied for the last 58 years. The FFC has long been a thorn in the side of Israeli policy, and returning to the sea so soon after the suspected Israeli drone strike on their previous vessel, Conscience, in international waters off the coast of Malta is going to be a blow to Israel and its propaganda efforts. This time, however, the FFC have ensured the world is watching like never before.
The attack on Conscience last month was a massive shock to people who heard about it, much of the media sluggish to report on the incident, but if anything it really did put the FFC on the board and drew attention to their work in a way it arguably never had been before. For years, the Israeli government has acted with impunity in enforcing its blockade on Gaza, often with military force, regardless of legality or morality. The Conscience was reportedly targeted by a drone strike, and though the Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, few doubt their involvement. The shock factor in this strike however was that the attack occurred in the middle of the Mediterranean, far away from any conflict zone, while the ship was en route to Gaza carrying medical and humanitarian aid.
That no fatalities occurred during the bombing was nothing short of miraculous. Yet, what followed was as disturbing as the attack itself: Malta, whose airspace appears to have been used in the drone strike, offered little assistance to the FFC crew. In fact, Malta not only obstructed requests that the United Nations' investigate the incident but also impeded humanitarian assistance efforts the FFC tried to organise for their people, as well as blocking any request that the ship be brought to Malta itself for repairs, or do so much as enter Maltese waters for fear of another drone strike. Despite the FFC’s calls for transparency and a full inquiry in light of all of this, Malta’s response has been evasive at best, and frankly complicit at worst. Yet at the same time the Maltese authorities finally released the long-delayed Marine Casualty Damage Report for the Conscience, after all the delay they caused with getting help to and getting the last people off the Conscience, their Prime Minister, Robert Abela announced that at some point in June, Malta would officially recognise a state of Palestine. Well I’ll very much believe that when I see it given Malta’s conduct with the FFC and alleged complicity with Israel to block their last aid ship to Gaza. It’s an announcement that can easily be seen to be little more than a superficial attempt at damage control given the fallout rather than a sincere diplomatic pivot on Malta’s part. Simply recognising Palestine doesn’t mean anything if its just words of course. Should you recognise a Palestinian state, what are you going to do to aid them yourselves in which case?
Of course, in stark contrast to the Conscience mission, the Madleen represents renewed moral clarity and an even louder call for accountability. Unlike the Conscience, which departed under relative secrecy—a choice now widely believed to have been undermined by an information leak—the departure of the Madleen has been broadcast globally across social media and various international and independent news outlets, though of course the UK mainstream media are again ignoring it. The new voyage features a crew of influential activists and public figures whose presence makes this mission virtually impossible to ignore and any attacks on said vessel will be equally impossible to ignore, the very real risk to their safety can’t be ignored and full respect is due to all those going for going anyway in that knowledge. Among them are climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham of Game of Thrones fame, member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, Palestinian-American lawyer and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement Huwaida Arraf, Turkish human rights advocate Yasemin Acar, activist and producer Nicole Jenes, Brazilian environmental campaigner Thiago Ávila, and flotilla organizer Zohar Chamberlain Regev. On the point of what could happen to them on this voyage, Cunningham gave a fairly straightforward response, having said:
‘If anything happens to the boat, it’s not a confrontation – it’s a deliberate attack. I’m indifferent to any criticisms over this.
If you look at it realistically, I play dress-up for a living. I love my job. I commit as much energy as I possibly can, but that’s the bottom line. I’m in my sixties. Like a lot of people, I’ve paid off my mortgage. I own my car, I don’t have any bills.
I do not have an iota of interest in any consequences that will come because of this. I have to be able to look at my grandkids when they hit their teens and say to me, ‘What did you do during this?’ I do not want to be one of those people that said, ‘I didn’t do anything’.
In World War Two, there was an excuse that you didn’t know what was going on with the Holocaust – an obscene event that was going on – there was an excuse to say, ‘I didn’t know’.
“Your only answer [for not acting now] to your grandkids, or your kids, when they grow up is, ‘I didn’t care’. The world cannot stand by and allow this to continue.’
It’s a powerful statement, he’s prepared as he can be for what they may face, but the presence of high profile figures like Cunningham and the others ensures that any act of aggression against the Madleen will reverberate far beyond the Mediterranean. The symbolism of the Madleen setting sail on the 15th anniversary of the deadly Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara—in which ten peaceful FFC activists were killed by Israel—cannot be ignored either. It is a reminder that the campaign to deliver aid to Gaza has long been met with deadly force by Israel. But now, the world is watching more closely than ever and indeed you can watch it all the way, because you can track the Madleen online, I’ll stick the link in the comments.
The Madleen's mission is dual in purpose. Yes, it carries much-needed aid for Gaza, where Israel's siege and airstrikes have created one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian catastrophes and where aid currently being given out under the guise of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, seemingly a front as that is for Israeli intent, as I’ve covered in other videos, has seen strikes launched by Israel on those coming for the aid and at more than one of their four risibly called humanitarian hubs at that, making it very hard to believe this is a mistake and not deliberate. They aren’t feeding people, they’re attacking them instead, all part of Israel’s plan, I fancy few people outside Zionist circles would believe otherwise anymore. But more than that, the voyage seeks to challenge the normalisation of war crimes, and to galvanize citizens across the world to demand accountability from their governments and media institutions. The world has watched Gaza be bombed, starved, and besieged under Israel's genocide and aid blockade. While Israel insists it is targeting only Hamas, entire generations of Palestinians have been killed, maimed, or displaced. Civilian infrastructure—hospitals, schools, bakeries, refugee camps—have been reduced to rubble. Aid organisations – legitimate ones - have been denied access, bombed, or intimidated.
Israel’s justification for its blockade and its attacks on aid vessels has often rested on the tired and increasingly indefensible claim that groups like Hamas are manipulating humanitarian missions. In the case of the FFC, this claim is particularly absurd. The crew of the Madleen includes individuals with internationally recognized profiles and track records of peaceful activism and advocacy for human rights – that excuse is all the weaker in the face of this particular mission. To suggest that Greta Thunberg, Liam Cunningham, or Huwaida Arraf are Hamas operatives is to descend into farce.
The presence of Greta Thunberg in particular has amplified global interest in the voyage, since she was due to rendezvous with the Conscience and sail on that vessel only for it to be attacked before she boarded. Thunberg, who has been detained multiple times for civil disobedience related to climate change, has consistently expanded her advocacy to include broader issues of justice and systemic violence, because these things are all connected, you can’t fix the planet without social justice and more people need to realise this. The climate cost of the first 60 days of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, just the first 60 days, of their bombing of the strip released the equivalent amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as burning 150,000 tons of coal, so lets not go down the road of pretending these things aren’t connected because they are, but Thunberg’s presence along with the others has ensured that the Madleen's journey cannot be dismissed or ignored. The interconnectedness of global justice movements and the fight for climate justice is inseparable from the fight against colonial occupation, militarism, and genocide. It is the same fight.
The Madleen’s journey is, therefore, not just about delivering supplies. It is about delivering a message: that the blockade must end, that complicity must be confronted, and that silence in the face of oppression is no longer acceptable. The Israeli government is no doubt aware that any aggression against this mission will carry a heavy reputational cost, but the threat remains very real. The drone strike on the Conscience showed that Israel, almost certainly the perpetrators, is willing to use lethal force even far from conflict zones and in violation of international law. So legitimate fears for the safety of the Madleen's crew, have to be treated with utmost seriousness.
These fears are compounded by the knowledge that the international community, with few exceptions, has historically failed to hold Israel accountable for its actions. The United States continues to provide military aid and diplomatic cover. European states issue mild rebukes while facilitating trade and security cooperation. And international bodies like the United Nations, though often vocal, are frequently hamstrung by political considerations. It is in this context of global inaction that the Madleen sails—a testament to the courage of those who refuse to wait for permission to do what is right, showing up international cowardice and complicity as they risk their lives to deliver aid and shame states into doing better as so many of us are demanding now.
The Madleen represents the best of what international solidarity can look like—diverse, brave, and unrelenting in its pursuit of justice. It is a floating rebuke to the political cowardice that has enabled Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza, that has enabled Israel to illegally occupy Palestinian land and abuse Palestinian people for decades as they have. And it is a rallying point for ordinary people who are tired of watching suffering and inaction unfold in real time that here is a mission to be supported and cheered on, at a time and over an issue that there continues to be so little to cheer about.
There is no question that this mission will be a litmus test for the international community. Should harm come to the Madleen, it will lay bare the hypocrisy of those who speak of human rights but fail to defend them. If the ship reaches Gaza successfully, it will be a major blow to the narrative that Israel’s siege is impenetrable and unchallengeable. Either way, the journey is already a moral and political victory even before it sets sail, shining a spotlight on a crisis too many around the world cannot keep ignoring.
As the Madleen slices through the waters of the Mediterranean in the days to come, it will be carrying more than aid. It carries a question directed at all of us: What will you do in the face of injustice? As Liam Cunningham’s grandkids might say to him, what did you do? And ask yourself are you doing everything you could be? None of us can say we didn’t know, we’ve been watching it all unfold for 20 months on social media.
So don’t look away. Let us demand of our leaders that they uphold international law that they are signatories of. Let us pressure our media to tell the truth, or embrace and highlight alternative media doing their jobs for them and are a lot better at it anyway in my view. And let us honour the courage of all those aboard the Madleen, by taking a leaf out of their books, not with applause but with some action.
The blockade of Gaza must end. The genocide must stop. And lets make sure those who seek justice on the Madleen are not sailing alone in that.
For more on Malta’s obstruction with regards to investigation of the Conscience attack do check out this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch.
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