The Freedom Flotilla's 'Madleen'
Information & Updates
The Madleen, named after Palestinian fisherwoman Madleen Culab, is a sailboat that is under the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. It has sailed from Sicily, Italy, to Gaza carrying nothing but aid, including baby formula, flour, and diapers, to the starving population in Gaza, which has not received any aid for the past couple of months (11 weeks). Israel’s siege of Gaza is inhumane, illegal, and full of war crimes — it is our duty to support, resist, and stand firmly with the people of Palestine. The Madleen is a symbol of resistance that the Israeli government is actively trying to suppress.
Those on Board (Names, Nationalities)
Greta Thunberg — Sweden
Baptiste Andre — France
Reva Viard — France
Rima Hassan — France
Yanis Mhamdi — France
Omar Faiad — France
Pascal Maurieras — France
Mark van Rennes — Netherlands
Thiago Avila — Brazil
Sergio Taribio — Spain
Yasemin Acar — Germany
Suayb Ordu — Turkey
Mission
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of causes and initiatives across the globe, joining forces to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. Rooted in the principles of non-violence and international solidarity, the coalition mobilizes civil society; not governments or political factions – to act in support of Palestinian rights.
Since its establishment in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has organized direct action missions by sea, sending boats with activists and aid toward Gaza to confront the blockade head-on. Each mission is guided by the expressed needs and goals of Palestinians in Gaza, centering the voices of those most affected by the occupation and siege.
Its goals are:
To end Israel’s more than seventeen year illegal and inhuman blockade of the Gaza strip (Euro-Med Monitor, 2023), which has not only perpetuated a continuing humanitarian catastrophe but also has undermined the rights of Palestinians in Gaza to health, security, and freedom of movement, among other core human rights.
To raise global awareness of the Gaza blockade, the unbearable conditions it reinforces, and the truth that this widespread human suffering is not accidental or natural – but the outcome of deliberate political and military actions.
To highlight the role of complicity, particularly that of the United States, which has provided Israel with approximately $3.8-$4 billion annually in military aid (Council on Foreign Relations, 2023) and has repeatedly used its veto power at the UN Security Council to shield Israel from accountability for its humanitarian crimes and violation of international law.
To amplify calls from Palestinians and Palestinian organizations in Gaza, showing that people around the world stand for and support their struggle for dignity, freedom, and justice.
The Freedom Flotilla stands on a clear, uncompromising belief that every human being deserves dignity, safety, and freedom – no exceptions. It rejects all forms of discrimination and oppression.
Learn more about The Freedom Flotilla on: Who We Are - Freedom Flotilla
Events, Updates, Speculations
The Freedom Flotilla ‘Madleen’ ship took to the seas on 30th May intending to deliver humanitarian aid and numerous humanitarian rights activists and politicians on board. Many knew the risk they were taking by boarding this ship, but they took this anyway in an attempt to show courage and strength in the face of Israeli genocide.
Many volunteers on the ship showed adversity in the face of the genocide and the harrowing toll it has taken on Gaza, and in hoping to deliver this aid, to help the Gazan civilians who have been stuck in the disturbing crossfire between Israel and Hamas.
Rima Hassan, member of the European Parliament, said, “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.”
As the ship gradually progressed to the seas of Gaza, the threat of attack from Israel was imminent, but those onboard the ship stood tall.
Thiago Avila, FFC Steering Committee member on board the Madleen, said, “The Madleen is not only carrying aid. It is carrying the will of people around the world to break the siege, to end the genocide, and to stand with Palestinians in Gaza.”
But the mission of the Madleen was cut short.
In the early hours of June 9th, the Madleen was violently intercepted by Israeli forces while sailing in international waters, approximately 110 nautical miles from Gaza. The ship, which carried 11 unarmed international volunteers and one journalist, was en route to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza: food, baby formula, and medical supplies.
Eyewitness accounts and updates from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition detail how quadcopters began surrounding the ship, releasing a white chemical-like substance that caused severe eye irritation among those onboard. At the same time, the ship’s communications were jammed, and disturbing audio was blasted over the radio system to block any distress calls before the Israeli military forcibly boarded the vessel.
At 3:02 AM EEST, the Israeli military stormed the Madleen. Every person onboard was forcibly taken. The ship was seized, its humanitarian aid stolen. And since that moment, the world has heard nothing from the 12 people abducted. Per FFC Press Officer Hay Sha Wiya, the Israeli Immigration Authority has denied holding them. Legal groups such as Adalah have made repeated attempts to contact military officials, desperate for answers, but have received none. The silence is deafening.
What was supposed to be a voyage of solidarity and defiance became an international abduction in real-time. These were not militants. They were activists, doctors, journalists—people who chose to risk everything to say: enough. Enough of the blockade. Enough of the genocide.
It is now confirmed that all 11 volunteers and one Al Jazeera journalist, all part of the Madleen crew on board, are currently at the Ashdod Port. They are currently being turned over to the Israeli authorities and are expected to be moved into the Ramleh detention facility unless they agree to leave, according to the most recent post on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla page. In the post, pictures of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and FFC Steering leader Thiago Avila can be seen with the Israeli flag in the background.
The next 24 hours are crucial as they decide whether the Madleen crew will stay and resist the fight against humanitarian aid being blocked from going to Gaza, or accept their defeat and be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv in Israel tonight.
This is a developing story.
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