THE FREEDOM FLOTILLA IS SETTING SAIL AGAIN
Handala will sail to break the blockade—for the children of Gaza
Siracusa, Italy — On July 13, 2025 the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) will launch Handala—a civilian boat setting out to challenge Israel’s illegal, deadly blockade of Gaza. The vessel will carry life-saving humanitarian aid and a message of solidarity from people around the world refusing to stay silent as Gaza is starved, bombed, and buried under rubble.
This mission comes just weeks after Israel’s illegal attack on the Madleen, another Freedom Flotilla boat illegally seized by Israel in international waters. Twelve unarmed civilians—including a Member of the European Parliament, a doctor, journalists and human rights defenders—were abducted by Israeli commandos and taken against their will to Israel, where they were interrogated, abused, then deported. Their “crime”? Attempting to bring food, medicine, and solidarity to Palestinians under siege.
We are not backing down.
The Handala launches in the shadow of ongoing mass atrocities. Since March 18, 2025 — when Israel broke the ceasefire and resumed attacks on Gaza — at least 6,572 Palestinians have been killed and over 23,000 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Among them, over 700 gunned down as they waited for food at distribution points controlled by the U.S.- and Israel-backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (GHF)—a death trap masquerading as an aid scheme; a structure of control and cruelty serving Israel’s genocide.
The Handala is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a grassroots international network that has been sailing against the blockade since 2010. On board will be volunteer medics, lawyers, social justice activists, journalists, and community organizers. We are not governments. We are people, taking action where institutions have failed.
For the children of Gaza
Named after the Palestinian cartoon figure Handala—a barefoot refugee child who turned his back on injustice and vowed not to turn around until Palestine is free—this boat carries his spirit, and that of every child in Gaza who has been denied safety, dignity, and joy. In 2023 and 2024, Handala sailed to ports across Europe and the UK, breaking through the media blockade, engaging the public, aznd building solidarity through press events, art installations, and political education in every port it visited.
The children of Gaza—who make up over half the population—have been living under a brutal blockade and siege for their entire lives. Since October 2023, over 50,000 have been killed or injured, tens of thousands orphaned, and nearly a million forcibly displaced and homeless. All now face famine, disease, and trauma few of us can imagine.
This mission is for them.