CAIRO: An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organizers said on Saturday.
The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies “to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza.”
“We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast,” German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. “We are all good,” she added.
In a statement from London on Saturday, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza — a member organization of the flotilla coalition — said the ship had entered Egyptian waters.
The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute “a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to “guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla.”
The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war and Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past.
A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade, left 10 civilians dead.
In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route for Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties.
Earlier in its voyage, the Madleen changed course near the Greek island of Crete after receiving a distress signal from a sinking migrant boat.
Activists rescued four Sudanese migrants who had jumped into the sea to avoid being returned to Libya. The four were later transferred to an EU Frontex vessel.
Launched in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only partially eased since.
Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine.
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Activist aid ship nears Gaza after reaching Egypt coast: organizers
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Activist aid ship nears Gaza after reaching Egypt coast: organizers
- The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies ‘to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza’
Lebanese army shows ambassadors efforts to disarm Hezbollah
- The Lebanese army has set a goal of dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River by year’s end
- Army chief said the tour was intended to highlight the army’s commitment to the efforts in spite of its “limited capabilities”
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army gave several ambassadors and foreign military officials a tour on Monday meant to demonstrate its efforts to disarm Hezbollah, as Beirut contends with fears of expanded Israeli strikes and mounting diplomatic pressure to show results.
Lebanon has committed to disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah, and the army has set a goal of dismantling the group’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River — around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Israel — by year’s end before tackling the rest of the country.
In a statement, the military said it “organized a field tour for a number of ambassadors, charges d’affaires, and military attaches to learn about the implementation of the first phase of the army’s plan in the south of the Litani sector.”
Army chief Rodolphe Haykal said the tour was intended to highlight the army’s commitment to the efforts in spite of its “limited capabilities.”
Israel and Hezbollah clashed for over a year after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, and a November 2024 ceasefire was meant to put an end to the hostilities.
According to the agreement, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure in the vacated area dismantled.
Israel was meant to pull back its forces and halt its attacks, though it has carried out regular strikes in the south and has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to disarm, and many fear a wider Israeli escalation should Beirut fail to deliver on its plans.
The ceasefire is monitored by a committee that includes the United States, France, UN peacekeepers, Lebanon and Israel, and is slated to meet on December 19.
Lebanon has committed to disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah, and the army has set a goal of dismantling the group’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River — around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Israel — by year’s end before tackling the rest of the country.
In a statement, the military said it “organized a field tour for a number of ambassadors, charges d’affaires, and military attaches to learn about the implementation of the first phase of the army’s plan in the south of the Litani sector.”
Army chief Rodolphe Haykal said the tour was intended to highlight the army’s commitment to the efforts in spite of its “limited capabilities.”
Israel and Hezbollah clashed for over a year after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, and a November 2024 ceasefire was meant to put an end to the hostilities.
According to the agreement, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure in the vacated area dismantled.
Israel was meant to pull back its forces and halt its attacks, though it has carried out regular strikes in the south and has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to disarm, and many fear a wider Israeli escalation should Beirut fail to deliver on its plans.
The ceasefire is monitored by a committee that includes the United States, France, UN peacekeepers, Lebanon and Israel, and is slated to meet on December 19.
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