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Here’s where things stand on Friday 6 June 2025:
- The Madleen ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), is en route to Gaza, carrying humanitarian aid as the Palestinian enclave faces food shortages due to more than 90 days of total Israeli blockade.
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among the 12 activists on board the vessel to break Israel’s siege of the Strip since March 2. The enclave has already been under Israel’s land, sea and air blockade since 2007.
- The Madleen departed Catania, Sicily, on June 1, just one month after Israeli drones bombed another FFC aid ship headed for Gaza. This is the latest effort to send aid into Gaza, where more than 54,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombardment.
- The 2,000km (1,250-mile) journey is expected to take seven days, provided there are no disruptions. The ship’s location is being monitored live by Forensic Architecture and using a Garmin live tracker on board. The latest location as of June 4, at 07:23 GMT, was 70 nautical miles (130km) southwest of the Greek island of Crete.
- Multiple reports in Israeli media say that the military will not allow the ship to reach Gaza, and that the activists risk detention and the seizure of their ship if they failt to comply with the Israeli army.
Madleen continues its journey towards Gaza
Forensic Architecture, a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London, has equipped the Madleen with an advanced tracking system.
In its live feed, we can see that the Madleen is currently off the southeast coast of the Greek island of Crete as it makes its way towards Gaza.
![[Courtesy of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Forensic Architecture]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-9.37.25%E2%80%AFAM-1749191854.png?w=770&resize=770%2C480&quality=80)
More than 650,000 send Freedom Flotilla Coalition letter to Israeli government
Some 650,706 people have now heeded the activist group’s call to send a letter to the government of Israel, serving as a “formal notice” of the Madleen ship’s planned route to Gaza and a reminder of the country’s legal obligations under international law.
“The ship is unarmed, poses no threat, and is operating in full accordance with international maritime, humanitarian and human rights law. Its passengers and crew include parliamentarians, journalists, attorneys and human rights defenders representing global civil society,” the letter template reads.
“Any interception, attack, sabotage, or interference with the Madleen or its civilian passengers and crew will constitute a deliberate, knowing, and unlawful attack on civilians and a violation of international law. Such actions would amount to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and potentially constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” it adds.
US rapper Macklemore praises Freedom Flotilla at Ireland concert
The US musician praised Irish solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition during his concert in Ireland’s capital, Dublin, on Wednesday.
“I have a special message, because right now on the front lines of delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza and breaking the Israeli siege, we have a message from our folks on the Freedom Flotilla,” Macklemore said, before playing a video recorded by Greta Thunberg, who is aboard the Madleen vessel.
A vocal pro-Palestine supporter, last June, Macklemore invoked the memory of the Holocaust in a speech on stage in Germany in which he called for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Former ICJ judge calls Israel’s self-defence claim around flotilla ‘nonsense’
John Dugard, a professor emeritus of international law at Leiden University in the Netherlands, has called Israel’s claims of acting in self-defence to block the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) “absolute nonsense”.
Dugard, who also served as the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice, said in order to “justify action in self-defence, Israel has to satisfy the international community that it has been subjected to an attack”.
“And one can hardly describe the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as an attack,” he said in an interview with the FFC.
Dugard continued that the State of Palestine has “exclusive territorial rights over its territorial sea” and the activists, by providing aid to Gaza, are simply “carrying out the obligation of the United Kingdom, whose flag it flies, to prevent the commission of the crime of genocide”.
New Gaza aid ship revives painful memories of Israeli raid on Mavi Marmara
Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal says seeing the Madleen ship try to break the blockade of Gaza evokes mixed emotions.
He says it can trigger flashbacks of the deadly night of May 31 2010, when he reported from the Mavi Marmara vessel as it set sail to break Israel’s siege of Gaza.
A ship called Madleen
As the Madleen sails towards Gaza to try to deliver life-saving aid to its people, little is known about the woman the boat was named after: Madleen Kulab, Gaza’s only fisherwoman.
When Al Jazeera first met Madleen Kulab (also spelled Madelyn Culab) three years ago, she had two children, was expecting her third and lived a relatively quiet life in Gaza City with her husband, Khader Bakr, 32, also a fisherman.
Madleen, now 30, would sail fearlessly out as far as Israel’s gunship blockade would allow to bring back fish she could sell in a local market to support the family.
When Israel’s war on Gaza began, the family was terrified, then heartbroken when Israel killed Madleen’s father in an air strike near their home in November 2023.
They fled with Madleen nearly nine months pregnant to Khan Younis, then to Rafah, to Deir el-Balah and then Nuseirat.
Now, they are back in what remains of their home in Gaza City, a badly damaged space they returned to when the Israeli army allowed displaced people to head back north in January.
Read more about Madleen and her family, here.
Al Jazeera speaks with Greta Thunberg
The activists explains why she joined the mission and the message she hopes it will send.
FFC calls on Greek, Italian, Maltese authorities to safely transfer asylum seekers to Europe
“We denounce the European Union’s role in obstructing the movement of asylum seekers, in clear violation of international law—an approach that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands and turned the Mediterranean into a graveyard” Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament on board the Madleen is quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).
The FFC, which rescued four asylum seekers earlier today, said its crew “is in communication with Search and Rescue NGOs, who are advising and assisting them, while calling on the Greek, Italian, and Maltese authorities to urgently fulfill their legal obligation to organise a safe rescue and transhipment of the refugees on board to safety in Europe”.
Where is the Madleen?
Forensic Architecture, a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London, has equipped the Madleen with an advanced tracking system.
In its live feed, we can see that the Madleen is currently south of the Greek island of Crete and has taken a diversion to rescue four Sudanese asylum seekers from a ship in distress.
‘Powerful symbolic action’: Amnesty calls for vigilance for Madleen
Amnesty International France has said “eyes must be fixed” on Madleen as it journeys towards Gaza.
It pointed to Israel’s statements that it is “preparing for all scenarios” when it comes to the vessel. Yesterday, Israeli media reported that includes potentially seizing the ship. The media have also widely reported that Israel will seek to block Madleen from entering waters near Gaza.
UN experts have called for the vessel’s safe passage.
Amnesty said Madleen sends a strong message for the international community to “no longer remain silent and inactive in the face of the genocide unfolding on our screens”.
Madleen crew says rescued asylum seekers must not be returned to Libya
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has released more details of the Madleen’s rescue of four asylum seekers earlier today.
“After rescuing four people who jumped into the sea to escape the Libyan Coast Guard, the crew issued their own mayday,” the coalition said.
“The rescued individuals had fled violence in Sudan and must not be returned to Libya, where they face detention and torture,” they said.
Madleen crew seeks Greece’s involvement after rescuing 4 people at sea
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is looking for Greek authorities to take charge of the four Sudanese asylum seekers it rescued from a ship in distress.
“Help us get the Greek Coast Guard to transfer the four survivors we rescued aboard the Freedom Flotilla to Greece,” Rima Hassan, member of the European Parliament, said on X.
Four rescued asylum seekers taken on board the Madleen
Four asylum seekers from the migrant vessel in distress have been taken on board the Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel after their boat was intercepted by the Libyan coastguard.
Rima Hassan, the EU parliament member, said the asylum seekers jumped in the water when they saw the coastguard approaching and swam to the Madleen.
Hassan said on X that the Libyan vessel had “lied” at first, identifying itself as the Egyptian coastguard.
She added that the four rescued individuals were Sudanese.
Video from the Madleen shows migrant boat in distress
French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan has posted a video of the migrant boat in distress.
Hassan earlier said on X that the Madleen had taken a 2-hour detour to respond to the distress call after the EU border agency Frontex had informed the vessel that it was the closest.
FFC ship approaching migrant boat with dozens on board
The Madleen is about 200 metres (650ft) from the boat in distress, which is estimated to be carrying about 40 asylum seekers.
Sources from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said two of the staff on board the Madleen are trained in search-and-rescue operations.
The crew is operating in close contact with other search and rescue teams, they said.
Madleen changes course to respond to migrant distress call
Sources from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have confirmed to Al Jazeera that the Madleen has changed course in response to a distress call reporting the detection of a migrant boat.
We will bring you more information on this soon.
Israel will not allow Madleen to dock in Gaza: Report
The Jerusalem Post, quoting an unnamed “senior Israeli defence source”, has reported that Israel will not allow the passage of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s ship.
The report said that if the activists disobey orders from the Israeli military, their ship could be seized and they could face arrest.
It goes on to say that Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz is expected to make a more firm decision on a course of action towards the ship today.
What we know about the Israeli-made drone tracking the Freedom Flotilla
As we have been reporting, an Israel-made drone being operated by Greece’s Hellenic Coastguard hovered over the Madleen ship for two consecutive nights on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Following a drone attack on a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship off the coast of Malta in May, activists on board the Madleen have expressed concern for their safety.
Here’s what we know about the high-tech drone:
- The IAI Heron UAV was designed in mid-1990s by the Malat division of major aerospace and aviation manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
- The Israeli military handed IAI $50m multi-year contract to supply it with Heron UAVs in September 2005.
- The Heron drone remains in use today, having been deployed extensively during Israel’s war on Gaza, as well as in its military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
- The Heron is designated as a long-endurance, medium-altitude UAV, and can operate at altitudes of 10km (6 miles) for 52 continuous hours and carry payloads weighing 1,000kg (2,200lb).
- In 2020, the Greek government announced it had signed an agreement with Israel to lease three Heron UAV’s with the stated purpose of border security and maritime surveillance.
- Besides Greece, several countries – including India, Germany, Canada, and Australia – use the Heron drone for surveillance and maritime patrol missions.
French politician on board Madleen says drone hovering above ship is Greek
As we reported earlier, activists on board the Freedom Flotilla vessel have reported that for a second successive night, a drone has hovered above the ship as it sails in international waters bound for Gaza.
Rima Hassan, a French member of European Parliament who is on board the Madleen ship, has now said she believes the drone is again being operated by Greek authorities.
“I’d like someone to explain to me why Greek drones are coming to monitor us above our heads in the middle of the night while we’re asleep. They’re coming during the day!” she said in a post on X.
An Israel-made drone operated by Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard hovered over the Madleen in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Almost half a million letters sent demanding Israel not harm Madleen
An online campaign calling on the public to write letters demanding that Israel not harm the Madleen or the activists on board has racked up more than 498,000 submissions.
Organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, participants in the campaign are asked to “put Israel on notice” by sending a prepared letter to Israeli officials as well as the UN and foreign governments.
The letter states: “Any interception, attack, sabotage, or interference with the Madleen or its civilian passengers and crew will constitute a deliberate, knowing, and unlawful attack on civilians and a violation of international law.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition states on its website: “We are putting them on notice”.
“But this letter alone will not stop an attack on those trying to deliver aid to the Palestinian people of Gaza. Your voice and action are what make this protection real,” it states.
The coalition hopes to reach a goal of more than 800,000 letters.
