Freedom Flotilla ship Handala sets sail from Sicily in an effort to break blockade on Gaza

Pro-Palestinian activists gathered at the Sicilian port city of Syracuse to launch a new mission by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on Sunday (July 13). Freedom Flotilla's "Handala" ship departed carrying civilian activists including lawyers, doctors and journalists, with supporters holding a large Palestinian flag gathering to send off the ship. At the port, Freedom Flotilla member doctor Mohammed Mustafa said "the idea of this is not going to feed everyone," but "to bring the attention of the world onto the illegal blockade in Gaza." Activists were "attempting to do something that world governments should be doing," he added. Another member of the coalition, Thiago Avila, said the boat would set sail "with the hearts and minds of millions of people behind it.” Avila, as well as Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, was among the 12 crew members on board the Madleen during the previous Flotilla mission.