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The Freedom Flotilla Coalition set sail Sunday toward Gaza with its new vessel, "Handala," from Siracusa, Italy, with 15 international activists on board.
The boat carries life-saving humanitarian aid and a message of solidarity from people around the world refusing to stay silent as Gaza is starved, bombed, and buried under rubble.
The mission marks a renewed effort to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and protest what organizers and international organizations describe as the ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
The choice of the name Handala for the Freedom Flotilla’s latest vessel was no coincidence. It was a deliberate decision rooted in powerful symbolism.
Handala refers to the legacy of Palestinian resistance through the iconic cartoon figure created by renowned Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali as a symbol of defiance, exile, and the unyielding hope of return.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Khaled al-Ali, the artist’s son, recalled that his father introduced Handala in August 1969 and often said, “Handala will only grow up when he returns to his homeland in Palestine.”
Khaled described the figure as “a poor boy—barefoot, with stained clothes—far from the ideal child anyone would dream of bringing into the world.”
“In a way,” he added, “Handala was my father’s conscience: a child who never lied, who always said what he thought regardless of the consequences, and who tried to stand on the right side.”
“Handala was my father’s compass,” he continued, “a compass that didn’t point north but always pointed toward Palestine.”
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, this ship now carries that same spirit—the spirit of Handala and of every child in Gaza who has been denied safety, dignity, and joy.
In 2023 and 2024, the vessel Handala docked at ports across Europe and the United Kingdom, breaking through media silence, engaging the public, and building international solidarity through press events, art installations, and political education at every stop.
Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s decision to name the first vessel heading toward Gaza, Madleen, also carried deep symbolism—honoring Madleen Kulab, Gaza’s first and only female fisher.
At 13, she took her father’s place and forged alone into a world of blockade and threat.
She later became a small business owner, employing others, offering boat tours under a purple canopy, and building a future in a place where hope was scarce.
The Madleen boat was intercepted and seized by Israeli forces in international waters on June 9.
The vessel was carrying food, medicine, and messages of solidarity to the besieged people of Gaza.
Twelve unarmed civilians aboard were abducted by Israeli commandos and taken against their will to Israel, an action condemned as a violation of international law by several human rights observers.
Their only “crime” was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians trapped under siege.
By choosing names like Handala and Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition amplifies the voices and stories of Palestinians whose lives embody resistance.
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