Yasemin Acar, a Turkish activist aboard the Madleen – a vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition en route to Gaza – warned Sunday that any Israeli assault on the civilian aid ship would amount to “yet another war crime.”
“If Israel attacks us, it would just be another addition to their long list of war crimes,” Acar said during a live broadcast on social media.
“They’re the ones armed. We carry no weapons – only humanitarian aid,” she added. “People need to understand: We are civilians, and this is strictly a humanitarian mission.”
“I feel like I always have to repeat this because of Israel’s propaganda,” she said.
As part of the latest mission organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid, the 18-meter sailing boat Madleen set sail June 1 from the Port of San Giovanni Li Cuti in Catania, Sicily.
The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches and children’s prosthetics, according to organizers.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered the military to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza.
The Israeli navy is preparing to intercept the humanitarian vessel as it approaches Gaza’s waters, with plans to forcibly redirect it to the port of Ashdod.
