Freedom Flotilla's Handala approaches Gaza, faces Israeli navy threat

The activist group Freedom Flotilla announced Saturday that its latest aid boat dispatched to Gaza was approaching the territory and planned to land there the following morning in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

The vessel, named the Handala after a popular Palestinian cartoon character, was just 105 nautical miles (194 kilometres) from its destination, organisers said – closer to Gaza than its predecessor the Madleen was when it was intercepted in June.

The Israeli navy said it would likewise block the new vessel from reaching the war-torn Palestinian territory.

“The [Israeli army] enforces the legal maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with directives of the political echelon,” an army spokesperson told AFP on Saturday.

Carrying 19 activists and two journalists from various countries, the Handala first set sail from Sicily on July 13 in a bid to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver aid to its population.

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The territory is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with the United Nations and NGOs warning of an imminent famine.

The Handala’s crew said in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.

The last boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

It carried 12 campaigners on board, including prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.