The group set sail on Sunday on the boat Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). The journey is expected to take seven days if they are not hindered. As reported previously by Al Jazeera, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to sail the vessel Conscience in early May, but it was attacked by Israeli drones while passing through Maltese waters.
Cunningham has been documenting and sharing their progress on social media.
According to a press release by the FFC, the boat is named Madleen after Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman in 2014, symbolising the “unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies.”
In a press release on the UN Office of Human Rights Commission website, experts called for safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s ship carrying essential aid supplies to Gaza. They expressed concern for Israel’s disregard for international laws and its constant attacks on humanitarian aid workers.
“Aid is desperately needed for the people of Gaza to forestall annihilation, and this initiative is a symbolic and powerful effort to deliver it. Israel should remember that the world is watching closely and refrain from any act of hostility against the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and its passengers,” the experts said.
“The people of Gaza have the right to receive aid through their own territorial waters even under occupation, and the Coalition ship has the right to free passage in international waters to reach the people of Gaza,” they said. “Israel must not interfere with its freedom of navigation, long recognised under international law.”
Call for solidarity
Another Irish supporter of Palestine who made news this week is the Irish MMA Fighter Paddy McCorry, who shouted “Free Palestine” while tackling his Israeli opponent, Shuki Farage, in an act of solidarity with Gaza on Saturday. This event happened at the Cage Warriors 189 event in Rome, Italy, where he also raised the Palestinian Flag after his win. He shared the viral clip of this win and captioned it “Street justice”.
According to the UN World Food Program, more than 70,000 children and 17,000 women in Gaza need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition. They state on their website that “more than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance – enough to feed 1 million people for up to 4 months – is ready to be brought into Gaza if the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier, actors, musicians, activists and other public figures wrote a letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza”.
British-Albanian pop sensation Dua Lipa has been vocal about the war in Gaza and last year criticised Israel’s offensive as a “genocide”.
Other signatories include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Riz Ahmed, and musicians Paloma Faith, Annie Lennox and Massive Attack.