Thunberg Boards Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel in Bid to Break Israeli Blockade

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to AP news, climate activist Greta Thunberg and 11 others set sail for Gaza on Sunday afternoon in a mission to challenge Israel’s blockade of the war-torn enclave, organizers announced.

The Madleen, a sailing boat operated by the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the port of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy.

It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip to bring in some aid and raise “international awareness” over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure.

“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech.

“Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even nearly as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,” she added.

Among the crew members are Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament. Hassan, a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza.

If unimpeded, the activists anticipate a seven-day journey to reach their destination.