Greta Thunberg joins forces with Game of Thrones icon to 'break Israeli blockade'

Climate activist has joined forces with Game of Thrones icon and 11 other activists to set sail for Gaza on a ship aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege”.

Carrying all 12 activists, the sailing boat, named Madleen, departed from the port of Catania in Sicily on Sunday, June 1 and is operated by the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The purpose of the mission is to reach the shores of the to bring aid supplies and raise “international awareness” of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists stated at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of the ship’s departure.

“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying. Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity,” Thunberg said, tearing up during her speech.

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Thunberg continued: “And, no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire in the face of the livestreamed genocide.” The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accuses of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza - claims which Israel has denied.

Thunberg has been a vocal opponent of Israel’s war on Gaza and boarded the ship alongside , the Game of Thrones actor, and European parliamentarian Rima Hassan. Hassan, the French-Palestinian human rights activist and lawyer, was denied entry to Israel earlier this year for her outspoken opposition to attacks on Gaza.

Cunningham said of the mission, prior to departure: “We don’t want any harm to come to these people. This is a humanitarian mission, doing what the rest of the world should be doing, including the EU - the European community where I’m from.”

The mission departs one month after the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s last humanitarian sailing mission to Gaza failed after the ship was allegedly attacked by two drones while in international waters. Freedom Flotilla Coalition blamed Israel for the attack which damaged the front end of the ship ‘Conscience’ in early May.

“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilisations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,” said the activist Thiago Ávila of the Madleen voyage. The journey is expected to take seven days, assuming no interference.

Several celebrities including actress , musician , author Max Porter and have also participated in a joint video to share their support for Freedom Flotilla’s latest mission. "A state on trial for genocide cannot and must not be permitted to decide what aid reaches the people it is trying to destroy," Hadid declares in the video.

Full list of the 12 activists onboard the Madleen

• Baptiste Andre

• Greta Thunberg

• Şuayb Ordu

• Mark van Rennes

• Omar Faiad

• Pascal Maurieras

• Reva Viard

• Rima Hassan

• Sergio Toribio

• Thiago Ávila

• Yanis Mhamdi

• Yasemin Acar