Illegal detention of 12 humanitarian workers and peaceful activists, including The Left MEP Rima Hassan, part of Israel’s wider strategy to starve Palestinians and hide it from the world.
The Left expresses its strongest condemnation following the interception today by Israeli authorities early this morning of the Freedom Flotilla, a vessel carrying humanitarian aid intended for the civilian population of Gaza, which has been subjected to a total blockade and forced starvation since March 2, 2025.
On board the ship were 12 humanitarian workers and peaceful activists engaged in a strictly civilian and non-violent mission. Among them were The Left MEP Rima Hassan and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, both widely recognized for their commitment to human rights and international justice.
This interception, carried out outside Israeli territorial waters, constitutes a blatant violation of international law, including maritime and humanitarian law. The arrest of the crew members and the confiscation of aid intended for a population in immediate humanitarian distress is unacceptable, and is clearly part of a wider strategy to starve and massacre Palestinians in Gaza while hiding Israeli war crimes from the world.
Co-Chair of The Left, Manon Aubry (La France Insoumise, France) said: “Netanyahu’s army has intercepted the Freedom Flotilla against a backdrop of deafening silence from political leaders in Europe and the world. History is watching them. Their inaction to end the genocide is nothing more than complicity. We demand immediate action from European authorities to guarantee the safety of the crew and allow humanitarian aid to enter.”
The Left calls upon states, the European Union, the United Nations, and the entire international community to strongly condemn this illegal detention, demand the immediate and unconditional release of all crew members, and urge Israeli authorities to allow immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in full compliance with international law and the orders imposed on Israel by the International Court of Justice.
Solidarity is not a crime, genocide is. Free the Freedom Flotilla crew.
