As unyielding as the tide, civil courage sails toward Gaza again
– Mohammed Talha Siddi Bapa
In an era of loud democracy and digital transparency, a ship named Handala sets sail once again, cutting across the Mediterranean waves toward a silenced shore – Gaza. It is not just a ship; it is a global outcry, a floating contradiction to a world that claims moral authority but stands paralysed when justice demands motion.
The Handala, organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is part of a long and determined lineage of civilian-led efforts to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Set to depart from Syracuse, Italy, on July 13, 2025, this ship follows in the wake of Madleen, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters barely a month ago. Onboard were peace activists, human rights defenders, and even high-profile names like Greta Thunberg. Their message was loud: let Gaza live.
But the response from the so-called civilized world? Deafening silence.
A History of Courage, A Legacy of Interception
Since 2008, dozens of ships and thousands of activists have taken the dangerous sea route to challenge the inhumane siege of Gaza. These voyages are not born of vanity or provocation. They arise from desperation – a desperation born from watching the world normalise the slow suffocation of a people. The first successful voyages of the Free Gaza Movement in 2008 brought hope to the besieged. But after the infamous 2010 Mavi Marmara raid, in which Israeli commandos killed 10 activists aboard a Turkish ship in international waters, the pattern became clear: Israel would not tolerate even symbolic resistance.
And it isn’t just the sea that’s being locked. On land too, roads to Gaza are sealed – not only by Israel, but ironically, also by Egypt. Just weeks ago, hundreds of international peace activists were rounded up, detained, and deported by Egyptian authorities for attempting to march to Gaza through the Rafah border. They were part of the Global March to Gaza, a civilian movement involving trade unions, student organisations, and humanitarian groups from over 50 countries.
The Egyptian regime’s response – beatings, arrests, and passport seizures – exposed the regional complicity in Gaza’s genocidal isolation. Under pressure from its allies and internal calculations, Egypt often acts as a second gatekeeper to the Strip. In June 2025, it brutally crushed a convoy whose only weapon was moral pressure.
Democracy’s Iron Curtain
This persistent obstruction – both physical and political – raises a disturbing question: What happens when global civil society speaks, but elected governments choose silence?
We live in a time where human rights are tweeted, but rarely defended. Western democracies, quick to condemn minor infractions elsewhere, offer muted reactions – or worse, justification – when Israel intercepts peaceful ships on international waters. These are governments that claim to stand for free movement, humanitarian aid, and nonviolence. Yet, when flotillas set sail not with guns but with food, medical kits, and poetry books for Gaza’s children, those same governments shrug or step back in support of Israel’s “right to defend itself.”
Ironically, this silence is not just indifference; it’s collaboration. By refusing to act, speak, or pressure, democratic governments become partners in the very blockades they quietly criticise in reports or internal meetings. They have the power to protect peaceful convoys from illegal seizures in international waters. But realpolitik trumps righteousness.
The Triumph of the Powerless
And yet, something remarkable persists. Despite military might, despite diplomatic apathy, despite the legal risks – NGOs and civil society groups continue to resist. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the organisers behind Handala and Madleen, has become a symbol of global solidarity. Composed of organisations from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia, this coalition represents the conscience of the planet, often at odds with the conscience of its governments.
Their missions are peaceful, transparent, and openly publicised. They carry not contraband but humanitarian supplies. Their passengers are teachers, doctors, activists, and parliamentarians. And they ask for nothing but access – for one community of human beings to reach another.
When Israel’s navy intercepted Madleen, passengers were detained without charge and deported. No crime was committed; no trial occurred. The only violation was daring to remind the world that Gaza is not forgotten. Yet those arrested stood with pride, smiling for the cameras, knowing that in every port, in every interception, they had struck a moral chord deeper than any government statement could reach.
Egypt’s Gatekeeping: The Lesser Told Story
While Israel enforces the naval blockade, Egypt controls the land gateway. The Rafah Crossing – the only border between Gaza and the outside world not directly controlled by Israel – has become a revolving door of Egyptian denial. The June 2025 convoy’s fate underlined this gatekeeping function: activists were detained en masse, assaulted, and expelled for simply trying to deliver medicine and solidarity.
Egypt’s suppression is as political as it is strategic. By preventing marches to Gaza, it signals its alignment with the status quo and distances itself from pan-Arab or Islamic solidarity movements. It also sends a chilling message to its own citizens: solidarity with Palestinians will not be tolerated.
And still, people resist. Egyptian activists, despite the dangers, have joined convoys and spoken out. The very act of trying to reach Gaza has become an act of defiance – not only against the Israeli siege but against Arab authoritarianism.
Flotillas as Mirror and Message
Every flotilla is more than a ship – it is a mirror held up to the world. It reveals who chooses silence when justice speaks. It exposes which governments will cheer protests in Hong Kong, Belarus, or Venezuela but clamp down on protests for Gaza. It asks uncomfortable questions: Why is the international law of the sea so easily overridden by one state’s military? Why are peaceful humanitarians treated as pirates, while real pirates – state-sponsored ones – go unquestioned?
But flotillas also send a message – especially to the people of Gaza. That message is: You are not alone. When Handala sails, it tells every Palestinian child that someone, somewhere, still dares to care. Still dares to act.
The Duty of Our Time
In a world of high-speed disinformation and performative outrage, the people who board these ships are relics of an endangered species: moral actors. They do not just tweet; they travel. They do not just write letters; they risk arrest. They live the ethics others only claim to believe.
And while governments continue to normalise the siege with silence, the global grassroots continues to respond with ships. It is not enough. But it is everything.
In the end, perhaps these flotillas will not lift the blockade. But they will have done something greater – they will have lifted the world’s mask.
