Climate champion Greta Thunberg and other activists are set to depart from the Sicilian city of Catania by boat for Gaza on Sunday, in a protest against the Israeli military campaign and the humanitarian situation in the region.
This was disclosed by Franco-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan, who will also be on the journey.
The initiative is organised by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of organisations opposing the Israeli blockade on aid supplies to Gaza. The blockade was imposed in early March and has only recently been eased.
Thunberg was scheduled to join a Flotilla vessel earlier this month, but the ship was damaged en route near Malta. Activists claim the vessel was attacked by an Israeli drone.
MEP Hassan said the mission’s goals were to “denounce the humanitarian blockade and ongoing genocide, call out the impunity granted to Israel, and raise international awareness.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel, has recently taken charge of relief operations in Gaza. While food deliveries have sporadically resumed in recent days, aid organisations and human rights groups are warning of a looming famine in the besieged area.
