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New ‘Freedom Flotilla’ Sets Sail to Try Breaking Gaza Blockade
Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht “Madleen” is docked in Ashdod port following a takeover by the Israeli army, in Ashdod, Israel, June 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nir Elias
i24 News – A new boat from the “Freedom Flotilla,” the Handala, left Syracuse in Sicily this Sunday, bound for the Gaza Strip.
Loaded with medical supplies, food, equipment for children, and medicine, this former Norwegian trawler is carrying around fifteen pro-Palestinian activists. The objective is to “break the Israeli blockade” and provide humanitarian aid to Gazans in need.
The departure, which was celebrated by dozens of people at the dock waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine,” comes six weeks after Israel intercepted a previous ship, the Madleen, which was carrying, among others, Greta Thunberg and European Union parliamentarian Rima Hassan. The Handala will stop in Gallipoli, Turkey where Gabrielle Cathala and Emma Fourreau, two other lawmakers from Hassan’s party, France Insoumise, will join the expedition on July 18. The former is a parliamentarian in France, while the latter serves alongside Hassan in the European Union assembly.
“This is a mission for the children of Gaza, to break the blockade and the silence about the genocide,” said Cathala, denouncing a possible “yet another violation of international law” if the boat is stopped.
Funded by donations, this initiative aims to support the population of Gaza. “We want to show international solidarity,” explained Claude Léostic, the French coordinator of the flotilla.
The post New ‘Freedom Flotilla’ Sets Sail to Try Breaking Gaza Blockade first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.
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Tens of thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge
Protesters gather to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group’s March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia August 3, 2025. Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Tens of thousands of demonstrators braved pouring rain to march across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has been worsening.
Some of those attending the march, called by its organizers the “March for Humanity,” carried pots and pans as symbols of the hunger.
“Enough is enough,” said Doug, a man in his 60s with a shock of white hair. “When people from all over the world gather together and speak up, then evil can be overcome.”
Marchers ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them was Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Many carried umbrellas. Some waved Palestinian flags and chanted “We are all Palestinians.”
New South Wales police said up to 90,000 people had attended, far more than expected. The protest organizer, Palestine Action Group Sydney, said in a Facebook post as many as 300,000 people may have marched.
New South Wales police and the state’s premier last week tried to block the march from taking place on the bridge, a city landmark and transport thoroughfare, saying the route could cause safety hazards and transport disruption. The state’s Supreme Court ruled on Saturday that it could go ahead.
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Peter McKenna said more than a thousand police were deployed and the size of the crowd had led to fears of a crush.
“No one was hurt,” he told a press conference. “But gee whiz, I wouldn’t like try and do this every Sunday at that short notice.”
Police were also present in Melbourne, where a similar protest march took place.
Diplomatic pressure ramped up on Israel in recent weeks. France and Canada have said they will recognize a Palestinian state, and Britain says it will follow suit unless Israel addresses the humanitarian crisis and reaches a ceasefire.
Israel has condemned these decisions as rewarding Hamas, the group that governs Gaza and whose attack on Israel in October 2023 began an Israeli offensive that has flattened much of the enclave. Israel has also denied pursuing a policy of starvation and accused Hamas of stealing aid.
Australia’s center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he supports a two-state solution and Israel’s denial of aid and killing of civilians “cannot be defended or ignored,” but has not recognized a Palestinian state.
Therese Curtis, a marcher in her 80s, said she had the human right and privilege of good medical care in Australia.
“But the people in Palestine are having their hospitals bombed, they’re being denied a basic right of medical care and I’m marching specifically for that,” she said.
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UK Plans to Provide Medical Treatment for Children in Gaza
Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive free food at a tent camp, amid food shortages, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
i24 News – The United Kingdom is preparing to launch a new initiative aimed at offering urgent medical care to children from Gaza, with up to 300 expected to be transferred to the UK for specialized treatment through the National Health Service (NHS).
Each child will be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and in some cases, siblings. The Home Office will oversee biometric and security checks ahead of their arrival.
The plan is part of a broader humanitarian effort and will be formally announced in the coming weeks.
A government spokesperson said, “We are moving forward with our plans to evacuate more children in need of urgent care, including welcoming them to the UK for specialized treatment, when it is in their best interest.”
The initiative complements the work of the NGO Project Pure Hope, which has already helped three Gaza children receive private medical care in the UK. So far, about 5,000 children have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt and Gulf states.