(31 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++PART MUTE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Catania, Italy – 31 May 2025
1. Drone shot of the Freedom Flotilla yacht, the “Madleen,” anchored off the port of Catania ++MUTE++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Thiago Avila, Freedom Flotilla Coordinator in Brazil:
++PART OVERLAID BY SHOT 3++
“I know that every person that walks this planet from the next generation will talk abut this moment. And everyone will talk about the genocide in Palestine. And everyone will ask what were we doing in that moment.”
3. Various of crowd listening to activists from Freedom Flotilla Association
4. Freedom Flotilla activist Yasemin Acar leading crowd in chant
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasemin Acar, Freedom Flotilla activist:
++PART OVERLAID BY SHOTS 3, 4, 6++
“We are aware of the risks but we are also aware of the fact that Palestinians are the ones that are enduring everything and to uphold humanity, to our humanity, we have to do everything in our power to use the freedom of movement that we do have.”
6. Drone shot of Madleen anchored off coast ++MUTE++
7. Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, Gaza emergency doctor and Freedom Flotilla supporter, giving his kaffiyeh to Thiago Avila
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, Gaza emergency doctor and Freedom Flotilla supporter:
“I had that Kaffiyeh with me in Gaza so it is for you, from Gaza, to bring it back to Gaza, for the people in Gaza there.”
STORYLINE:
Activists from a human rights organization trying to bring aid to Gaza, gathered in Catania, Sicily on Saturday a day ahead of their departure for the Mideast. Their last attempt to bring aid to Gaza was foiled by a drone attack off the coast of Malta.
This time the group will be using the yacht “Madleen” for the trip. On Saturday activists raised a Palestinian flag on the bow of the Madleen, anchored off the Sicilian coast.
“I know that every person that walks this planet from the next generation will talk about this moment,” said Thiago Avila, the Freedom Flotilla coordinator in Brazil.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg was scheduled to take part in the events Saturday but did not attend the press conference.
Earlier this month drones attacked the Conscience, another of the group’s ships carrying aid to Gaza in international waters off the coast of Malta.
A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience, which authorities said experienced a fire that was brought under control. The vessel was carrying 12 crew members and four civilians, the Maltese government said, adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship. The group was safe and no serious injuries were reported, it said.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship. The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones, but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard. Another video showed a fire blazing.
The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment.
Hunger and malnutrition have mounted among Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians since Israel barred entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies nearly three months ago, allowing a trickle of aid in only the past two weeks.
For months, experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine. Israel eased its blockade on the territory a few weeks ago, but the U.N. humanitarian aid office said Friday that deliveries into Gaza remain severely restricted.
AP Video by Gaetano Pulvirenti
Produced by Trisha Thomas
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