“Hanzala” approaches Gaza; dozens of drones fly over the ship.
French MP Gabriel Catala, who is on the Hanzala ship, emphasized in an interview with Al Jazeera: “Last night, 30 drones flew over this ship. We hope to reach the Gaza Strip without an Israeli attack.”
He added: “We call on all nations to hold demonstrations in protest of the genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
But European Parliament member Foroue also said: “We are approaching the shores of the Gaza Strip and we hope not to be arrested by the occupying forces. Tel Aviv is using starvation as a means to destroy the Palestinians.”
Less than two months after the seizure of the Madeleine ship, this time the 18-meter fishing vessel Hanzala has set off from the port of Syracuse in Sicily, Italy, to the Mediterranean to challenge the blockade of Gaza. The ship is part of the “Freedom Flotilla” and is carrying 15 activists and supporters of Palestine from different countries, including figures from the European and French parliaments, volunteer doctors, independent journalists, and activists from popular campaigns. The interior of the ship is also filled with symbolic humanitarian aid (medicine, light items, and messages of solidarity).
The ship is named in honor of “Hanzala” – the immortal character created by the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali – a child who turned his back on the injustices of the world, and now this same symbol, on a real deck, addresses the world’s public opinion: Gaza is not alone.