ALBAWABA - As it gets closer to the Gaza shore, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's aid vessel, the Madeleine, is apparently encountering significant Israeli signal jamming. The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza said the ship, which is transporting 12 international activists and humanitarian aid, is only a few kilometers away from its final destination.
Israeli drones have been flying above for hours, raising concerns among people on board, the committee said on social media. The crew continues to sail in spite of the danger, sending a strong message of support for Gaza: "You are not alone." Israeli soldiers are allegedly interfering with the ship's navigation and communication systems, which the organization describes as "dangerous." In order to follow the ship's path, they have provided a tracking URL and asked people to disseminate it all across the world.
Al Jazeera was informed by French physician Baptiste André, who is on board the ship, that correspondence is continuing with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other international organizations. According to André, the ship is promoting an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza while also transporting a symbolic one-ton consignment of medical help.
Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist who is also on board, said that the crew's goal is to arrive in Gaza in the next day or two. She warned that international inaction in the face of Gaza's suffering would be "the worst-case scenario," underscoring the need of lifting the embargo and creating humanitarian corridors.
Israeli authorities have responded by promising to halt the ship before it reaches what they refer to as "Israeli territorial waters." Israel Hayom claims that in anticipation of a possible interception, the Israeli Navy has practiced off the Ashdod coast. Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, said that he gave military personnel orders to keep Madeleine out of Gaza, saying the embargo is required to prevent weapons from getting to Hamas. He accused the activists of having anti-Israel sentiments and rejected the ship's purpose.
An internet video that depicts a bunch of Israeli kids on a boat threatening Greta Thunberg and the crew has also provoked concern. The kids made fun of her humanitarian endeavors and charged her with aiding "terrorism."
The Madeleine, the 36th ship in the Freedom Flotilla, an international effort started in 2010 to protest Israel's naval siege of Gaza, sailed from the port of Catania, Italy, in early June. The vessel bears the name of Madeleine Kulab, the first female professional fisherwoman in Gaza, who perished in the Israeli attack on the enclave in October 2023 along with her father.
