A new vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the Handala, set sail from Siracusa, Italy, on Sunday, 13 July, embarking on a mission to break the long-standing Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The ship carries humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, along with international activists, parliamentarians, and human rights defenders.
This voyage comes just weeks after a previous attempt was thwarted. In June, another FFC vessel, the Madleen, was seized by Israeli forces in international waters, and its 12 crew members were abducted, detained, and later deported. Despite this, the coalition remains resolute.
“Just weeks after Israeli forces illegally seized our boat ‘Madleen’ and abducted 12 unarmed civilians in international waters, we continue — with global solidarity — to challenge Israel’s illegal and deadly siege,” the FFC stated.
The mission’s focus, beyond delivering material aid, is to send a powerful political message of solidarity, particularly for the children of Gaza, who constitute over half of the enclave’s population. The vessel itself is named after a famous Palestinian cartoon character, a barefoot refugee child who symbolises defiance against injustice.
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A Mission for Gaza’s Children
According to Michele Borgia, a spokesperson for Freedom Flotilla Italy, this mission has a special emphasis on the plight of children in Gaza. “The children of Gaza – who make up over half the population – have been living under a brutal blockade and siege for their entire lives,” the FFC noted in a statement. The cargo includes baby formula, and children from Puglia, Italy, have sent drawings to be delivered to children in Gaza as a gesture of solidarity.
Activists on board stress that the mission is a response to institutional failure. Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, who was on the seized Madleen, expressed this sentiment before the Handala’s departure: “We believe that if it was not the Madleen, then the Handala; if it’s not the Handala, the next mission, that will be bigger, will break the siege of Gaza… we understand that the whole world is uniting against the genocide.”
The crew of up to 18 people includes prominent figures such as US labour organiser Christian Smalls and French politicians Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. Organisers acknowledge that the aid on board is symbolic and insufficient to meet the immense needs of Gaza’s population but insist the primary goal is to challenge the blockade’s legitimacy. “Where governments fail, we, the people, are there to act,” Borgia emphasised.
Image: Australian doctor Mohamed Mustafa (L) and US actor Jacob Berger stand on the Freedom Flotilla ship Handala ahead of the boats departure for Gaza at a port in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy, July 13, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
