Overview
- The Handala’s crew of 14 features emergency doctor Mohammed Mustafa, labor activist Chris Smalls and co-founder Huwaida Arraf, reflecting global solidarity.
- Two La France Insoumise deputies, Gabrielle Cathala and Emma Fourreau, are scheduled to join the voyage in Gallipoli on July 18.
- The voyage will span approximately 1,800 kilometers over a week across the central Mediterranean to Gaza’s coastline.
- Activists aim to breach what they deem an “illegal and murderous” naval blockade enforced by Israel since March, which UN agencies link to critical shortages in Gaza.
- The mission follows the June interception of the Madleen flotilla carrying Greta Thunberg and MEP Rima Hassan, which was seized 185 kilometers off Gaza.