On July 20, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's ship Handala set sail. The coalition also includes the ship Madleen, which set off for Gaza several weeks ago and was seized by the Israeli army.

Handala departed from the Italian port of Gallipoli on a journey lasting approximately six days. The departure was preceded by press conferences and solidarity actions in several Italian cities, and the boat is decorated with many children's drawings and colorful symbols of hope. The main goal of the action is to show strong international solidarity with the people of Gaza and to increase pressure on Netanyahu and Trump to enforce direct humanitarian aid with food, medical supplies, and essential goods.

On behalf of ICOR, I strongly protest against the sabotage actions that were carried out against the ship shortly before it set sail: the ship's propeller was blocked with a rope and the water tank was poisoned. The attentive and now very experienced crew (the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has been operating since 2021) noticed the attacks in time.

One of the 21 activists on the ship is Hatem Laouini, deputy chief coordinator of ICOR. He writes: “We will not forget and we will not forgive.” He sees the voyage explicitly as a means of raising awareness about the genocide in Gaza and strengthening solidarity.

He is introduced on the Freedom Flotilla website: He is a trade union activist and fighter for the rights of workers and farmers. He is also a member of the International Anti-Imperialist United Front Against Fascism, War, and Environmental Destruction (United Front). Hatem also belongs to the secretariat of La Via Campesina (global movement of farmers and agricultural workers) in the Arab region.

The activists on the ship are actively working with the press and reporting in short videos. They also write about their experiences on their journey across the Mediterranean, for example, seeing Frontex drones searching for refugees at sea every night. The ship is being followed with great attention and sympathy on its journey, with reports from Al Jazeera, junge Welt, Le Monde, Haaretz, and smaller newspapers. With each day that the weapon of starvation claims new victims in Gaza, people's anger and urgent desire to end the barbarism grows. The group of activists from 12 countries on the ship includes two journalists, Christian Smalls, founder of the Amazon union in New York, as well as members of the European Parliament, a human rights lawyer, climate activists, Tania Safi from Australia, founder of an aid organization for Lebanese refugees, and a Jewish US war veteran.

They will not only be active during their journey to the children of Gaza, but will also work to mobilize support in their countries in the coming months as witnesses to Israeli genocide and inhuman brutality.

Hatem Laouini was already part of the solidarity caravan that traveled from Tunisia via Egypt to Gaza in June 2025, but was stopped by the Egyptian government. 1,500 volunteers from 54 countries were part of the caravan, which was warmly welcomed in Tunisia and Libya on its way. Young people spontaneously joined the caravan, which is also known as “steadfastness,” or Samoud in Arabic.

We must not have any illusions about the Israeli secret service and the Israeli army. Like the Madleen, the ship Handala will be stopped in coastal waters and prevented from continuing on to Gaza. We are paying close attention to further developments and are prepared for anything.

Monika Gärtner Engel, ICOR Main Coordinator