Climate activist Greta Thunberg is aboard a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla (of one) now navigating the eastern Mediterranean, as the Israeli navy signals it is prepared to intercept the vessels enforcing what it calls a “security naval blockade.”
The boat is expected to arrive close to Gaza tomorrow.
Related: What we know about the Freedom Flotilla
The voyage—part environmental, part humanitarian, and wholly political—is shaping into another high-stakes confrontation at sea.
According to the Garmin tracker on the boat, the Barcole schooner is headed straight for the Ashdod port, suggested that some diplomatic agreement has already been discussed and agreed upon for optics. Had the boat marked Port Said, they’d likely get stopped by the Egyptian army, which has no history of kindness, when it comes to saving or helping boats in distress.
The flotilla, organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the Italian port of Catania on June 1 and includes only vessel, confusingly, with two names, the Madleen and the Barcarole, sailing under a UK flag. On board are pro-Palestinian activists, including a Swedish and French citizen, one diplomat, and Greta Thunberg—now one of the most visible figures in the climate and social justice movement.
The ships are carrying what organizers describe as urgently needed aid: baby formula, rice, water desalination kits, women’s sanitary products, medical equipment, and prosthetics for children. Before heading south, the Madleen reportedly picked up Sudanese refugees in a symbolic move connecting global displacement crises.
“We are delivering hope and supplies where governments have failed,” said a spokesperson for the coalition. “This voyage is also a message: the blockade is not just illegal—it is lethal.”
The vessel carries 12 pro-Palestinian activists from the UK, France, Sweden, and other countries. Among them is French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, who previously described the October 7th massacre as a “legitimate act.”
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Thunberg said that participants in the so-called “Freedom Flotilla” are in “high spirits” as they approach Gaza and they plan on live-streaming the interception with Israel’s navy commanders:
“We are aware of the risks, but we chose to sail because the real danger lies in remaining silent in the face of genocide,” she claimed. Following an aerial attack on a previous flotilla vessel in international waters near Malta six weeks ago, organizers arranged for a Greek drone and naval monitoring to accompany the current voyage.
Hassan posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the “Israeli army is preparing to intercept and seize the vessel using missile boats and Shayetet 13 naval commandos.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement in reply to Green Prophet’s questions on how it will react:
“The IDF enforces the security naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with the directives of the political echelon,” the IDF spokesperson told Green Prophet. “We have nothing more to add.”
The blockade, first implemented in 2007 following Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, has been widely criticized by international human rights groups for contributing to what the UN now calls a humanitarian catastrophe. Since the October 7, 2023 attacks and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, aid access has been sporadic and heavily restricted.
Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized what he called “basic humanitarian aid” into Gaza. But on the ground, fuel shortages, infrastructure collapse, and ongoing military operations have left much of the aid bottlenecked or inaccessible. This is mainly due to the Hamas terror group calling the shots within the enclave.
While Israel has urged the UK to prevent the Barcarole—a UK-flagged ship—from approaching Gaza’s waters, the British Embassy staff in Tel Aviv told Green Prophet it is currently checking if there will be any diplomatic efforts regarding the issue. They did not get back to us.
So far, no formal action has been announced, and both London and Paris have issued recent statements condemning the ongoing restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza. British and French leaders have warned that unless conditions improve, “concrete actions” may follow.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has launched similar efforts over the past 15 years, most famously the Mavi Marmara mission in 2010, during which Israeli commandos killed nine activists on a Turkish-flagged aid ship attempting to reach Gaza. That incident led to a diplomatic rupture between Israel and Turkey and triggered international investigations. On the Israeli side of the investigation improvised weapons were found on the boat and were used to attack the Israeli commandos, Israel asserted.
This time, the flotilla is more modest, and hundreds of boats have not joined them as they hoped, but the symbolism is powerful: Greta Thunberg—representing a generation of young, justice-oriented global activists—has placed herself at the heart of a decades-old conflict.
Her recent social media post from aboard the Madleen reads: “Let Gaza Live.”
For Green Prophet, the story of this flotilla is more than political theatre. It reflects the intersection of climate, conflict, and displacement—a convergence already visible across the region. With Gaza’s aquifers salinized, electricity grid collapsed, and agricultural systems destroyed, climate collapse in Gaza is not a future threat—it is a present condition.
Years ago when a peace-making desalinating plant was proposed, along with funding, Hamas sabotaged the Gaza mayor by not letting him leave the enclave to meet partners in Europe.
Greta’s presence isn’t just about humanitarian supplies. It’s about bearing witness to what happens when environmental injustice meets conflict
Green Prophet will continue to monitor the story as it unfolds.
