Freedom Flotilla sets sail again on aid mission to Gaza | ABS-CBN News

International NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) left the Italian port of Catania on Sunday (June 1) to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on its ship in the Mediterranean. The crew of volunteers, which includes climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, set sail on the 'Madleen' carrying what the group called "limited amounts, though symbolic", relief supplies whilst Thunberg told reporters before sailing that the mission was aiming to "protect human rights" in Gaza. This is the FCC's second attempt to reach Gaza - another vessel of the group, the 'Conscience', was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May. The NGO said Israel was to blame for the incident. Israel has not responded to requests for comment. FFC said on X that the trip "is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes". The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms. Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week long blockade on Gaza - whose 2 million population is squeezed into an ever narrowing area on the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis - allowing limited aid UN-led operations to resume. On Monday, a new avenue for aid distribution was also launched - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - backed by the United States and Israel, but with which the U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work, saying it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. (Production: Danilo Arnone) For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below:    • ABS-CBN News   For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below:    • The latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN ...   For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below:    • News Digital Raw Cuts OLD   Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch the full episodes of TV Patrol on iWantTFC: http://bit.ly/TVPatrol-iWantTFC Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook:   / abscbnnews   Twitter:   / abscbnnews   #NewsDigital #LatestNews #ABSCBNNews