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ISRAEL HAS VOWED to “protect” its maritime space as a boat full of activists continues its route to Gaza to deliver vital aid to the local population in the besieged strip.
The Madleen, one of the boats of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition whose stated aim is to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, departed Sicily on Sunday carrying a dozen people along with long with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars.
Among the crew members are environmentalist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, as well as other activists from Germany, Brazil and Spain.
Senator Lynn Ruane saw the boat off before it left.
They set sail in response to Israel’s total aid blockade of the Palestinian enclave since 2 March which has resulted in the deaths of many children due to starvation.
More than 90% of the enclave’s 2.3 million people are facing acute food shortages, according to aid groups.
“Together, we can open a people’s sea corridor to Gaza,” the coalition said. But Israel’s military responded yesterday, stating it was ready to “protect” the country’s maritime space.
When asked about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, army spokesman Effie Defrin said “for this case as well, we are prepared”, declining to go into detail.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas.
Overnight, Brazilian activist onboard the Madleen, Thiago Ávila, shared a post to Instagram claiming the vessel is being tightly tracked by Israeli overhead surveillance drones.
“Things are settling down. The drones are now pretty much on a permanent basis around us,” he said.
“We were training all of our participants, and everyone should be prepared for scenario like this. We had two nights of rest. On the third night, the drone started to show up.”
The health ministry in Gaza said at least 4,240 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.
The IDF said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424.
It comes as 27 people were killed yesterday in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.
The GHF announced today that it is suspending its operations as the IDF declared all roads leading to aid distribution centres are from now on “considered combat zones”.
With reporting from AFP
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