ONLY weeks after the crew of the boat Madleen was intercepted and abducted in international waters by Israeli occupation forces, the Freedom Flotilla coalition is preparing to set sail again. 

The Handala, carrying essential supplies including food and medicines, will began its voyage from Italy yesterday, with 18 crew members on board, including trade unionists and parliamentarians such as US labour organiser Chris Smalls, French MEP Emma Fourreau and MP Gabrielle Cathala.

Breaking the siege for Gaza’s children

Michele Borgia, spokesperson for Freedom Flotilla Italy, told People’s Dispatch that beyond the flotilla’s consistent message of solidarity with the Palestinian people under siege, this mission has an additional focus: the children of Gaza. Thousands of Palestinian children, including babies, have been killed in Israel’s ongoing attacks, Borgia warned. The ship’s cargo includes baby formula. The name of the ship, Handala, is a reference to the cartoon character who turns his back on the world in protest until Palestine is free.

Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March and imposed a blockade on all humanitarian aid to Gaza, children have starved as formula and food remain out of reach, Borgia continues. “There are also many reports of children and parents being targeted while waiting in line for aid, specifically baby formula.”

When announcing the mission, Freedom Flotilla wrote: “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.”

The specific link to Gaza’s children has also prompted a call to action for southern Italy. Puglia was the first in the country to officially support severing ties with Israel, Borgia points out. Now, children from Puglia have been invited to send drawings to children in Gaza. These will be carried aboard the Handala as an additional message of solidarity.

The Handala’s political message

Borgia says that the supplies on board the Flotilla’s ships are far from enough to meet the needs of the people in Gaza after months of blockade. “Critics, including Israel, never miss the chance to point out that we’re carrying so little, asking what good it can do,” he said. “But they fail to mention that, for example, last year, when we organised the delivery of thousands of tons of essential supplies, those shipments were blocked too.”

The mission of the Handala, like that of the Madleen and earlier voyages, goes beyond delivering material aid, he adds — it is, in many ways, a political statement. “For years, Israel has undermined Palestinians’ ability to fish or farm,” Borgia said. “This has forced Palestinians in Gaza into complete dependency on aid, with devastating consequences for their sense of dignity and self-sufficiency.”

In this context, as governments remain silent in the face of Israel’s genocide, ongoing occupation and other crimes, Freedom Flotilla aims to break the silence. “Where governments fail, we, the people, are there to act,” Borgia emphasised.

Freedom Flotilla Italy has taken an important role in organising the Handala’s departure, co-ordinating aspects of technical and logistical preparations. The chapter draws links to Palestine solidarity mobilisations in the early 2000s, including the work of journalist and activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who joined a mission that successfully reached Gaza. 

“Ever since then, Israel has cracked down on similar missions,” Borgia noted, referencing the violent obstruction of recent sailings, including the Madleen.

Many of the Freedom Flotilla’s crew members are still from Europe and North America. “Israel tends to hesitate a bit more before attacking international activists,” Borgia said. But as the world witnessed with the Madleen, even that doesn’t stop them from kidnapping crews from international waters and subjecting them to abuse. Meanwhile, governments from which the activists originate largely remain silent, including Italy, Borgia says. “Our ministers shake hands with ICC suspect Netanyahu, but they say nothing about Palestine.”

Trade unionists on board

He also pointed out that Italian companies like defence giant Leonardo continue arms exports to Israel, despite constitutional prohibitions to do so. Others taking part in the mission have echoed similar critiques. US union leader Smalls announced his participation in the Handala mission together with an appeal for an end to US support for Israel. “It’s not just the government,” he wrote. “Our own American labour union organisations that are supposed to fight for justice are complicit.”

In his statement, Smalls denounced the silence of some major US unions on the genocide in Gaza and urged them to listen to their members. “The killing of innocent people does not go beyond the scope of labour,” Smalls said on social media. “I am calling on American labour to take a stand: shut down all arms shipments to Israel, pass ceasefire resolutions immediately, and get on the right side of history. We will not be intimidated. We will not be silent.”

Across Europe, trade unions are increasingly endorsing pro-Palestinian resolutions under pressure from their rank and file. In many ways, this mirrors the experience of the Freedom Flotilla that Borgia describes: strong grassroots support and growing engagement from communities, met with indifference or hostility from the political class. 

“But that hasn’t stopped us,” he said. “Many of our core organisers are Palestinian, and when we talk to people in Palestine, they always urge us to keep speaking out.”

As the Handala prepares to set sail, its crew is determined to keep the focus on Gaza. And more ships are being prepared to do the same.

This article appeared on Peoplesdispatch.org.