Greta Thunberg and pro-Palestinian activists sail to Gaza to 'challenge the Israeli blockade,' plan to livestream any confrontation

A group of 12 pro-Palestinian activists – including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg – set sail from Sicily on June 1 with the stated goal of “breaking the Israeli blockade” of Gaza. They were initially scheduled to reach the coast by June 7, but have now sailed beyond Egypt and expect to arrive off Gaza’s coast by Monday – unless intercepted by the Israeli military.

In the event of a confrontation, the activists told The Sunday Times they plan to livestream it. “The international community is mobilizing,” one activist said.

Among those onboard the vessel, the Madleen, are Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament who is banned from entering Israel; Omar Faiad, a journalist with the Qatari network Al Jazeera; Yasemin Acar, who gained attention for filming herself dancing during Iran’s missile attack on Israel; and Thiago Avila, who reportedly attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

While the mission is publicly framed as a humanitarian effort to deliver vital aid and medical supplies to Gaza, a report in Germany’s Bild newspaper alleges that several participants aboard hold radical anti-Western views, express support for terrorist organizations, and advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel.

“I would say it’s fairly calm, but high spirits,” said Thunberg. In a message sent to The Sunday Times from the Madleen, she added, “We are very happy to be actually going, to be sailing.”

Ynet News reported Thunberg's interview with The Times.

“What brought me on this boat?” Thunberg said. “Just being human, seeing the footage from Gaza, hearing the reports and feeling that I need to do something, whatever that is.” She continued, “And for some reason I have a platform, and if I can use that platform, for example, being on this boat and amplifying the Palestinian cause, then of course I have to do that. Because I care about justice and because … I cannot just sit around and watch this genocide happening without doing something."

Thunberg asserted, “You cannot be a climate justice activist if you are ignoring all the marginalized people today and their suffering.”

She went on to say she sees many parallels between what is happening in Gaza and other global crises. “Both the climate crisis, the genocide in Palestine and other humanitarian crises all over the world are results of systems that sacrifice the vast majority of people and … the planet just for a very fortunate few to be able to make profit and to profit out of that exploitation and to be able to keep their geopolitical power at all costs.”

Thunberg also addressed accusations of antisemitism that have followed her involvement in pro-Palestinian activism.

“Every day since I was 15, I have received criticism from every possible angle, no matter what I do. If they can’t find anything, they make something up; for example, like antisemitism accusations,” she said. “We are saying that no one should be valued more or less than anyone else because of their background. And that applies to everything, also to the Palestinian cause.”

However, Thunberg has not condemned the atrocities committed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre, in which 1,200 Israelis and international citizens were killed and 251 people were kidnapped into Gaza.

Reva Viard, one of the French activists onboard the Madleen, told The Times, “The more time passes, the closer we get to the point of tension – but the more time passes, the more the international community mobilizes. So we’re all calm on board, and hope grows as we move forward. So the possibility that the Israeli army will attack or board the Madleen obviously exists … but there are also other boats that have reached Palestine. So we’re banking on this scenario more than any other.”

The Israel Security Agency stated that it will not allow the Freedom Flotilla to dock at any Gaza port.