Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks from boat enroute to Gaza

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg continues her journey on-board The Madleen ship - a vessel launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) - enroute to war-torn Gaza.

The 22-year-old Swedish woman is among 12 activists aiming to break Israel’s aid blockade.

“We cannot afford to give up. There is simply too much at stake. In times of injustice, as we are seeing now, the genocide and blockade happening, we have to do everything we can to demand an end to these atrocities and war crimes committed by Israel,” Thunberg told online news channel ‘Democracy Now!’.

The vessel departed Catania, Sicily on June 1st and is undertaking a 2,000km journey. Israel’s Walla news agency has reported the military is preparing for the possibility of seizing the Madleen if it enters “prohibited” waters, although it stressed no final decision has been made.

“We are seeing drones, last night there were two different moments when there were drones circulating above us. We have safety procedures that we would use and we have different scenarios that we are prepared for to maximise our safety in a non-violent way. So we’re trying to do our very best,” Thunberg said.
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Israel eased an 11-week aid blockade on May 19 2025, but the United Nations has said the amount of aid being sent in amounts to just over 10% of people’s needs.
The Israeli Government claims it imposed the blockade on Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages - 20 of whom are understood to be alive.