As the yellow-hulled ship bobbed on the blue waters of the Mediterranean, a Palestinian flag fluttered wildly in the wind as it carried over a dozen passengers who said they sought one thing from their journey: freedom.
Parents had brought their children hoping they too could one day travel by sea like the vessel – one of two – that was about to attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of six nautical miles after it set off as part of flotilla from the fishermen’s port in Gaza City.
Those on board the ship were handed diplomatic passports by the Gazan Interior Ministry, documents that few countries, such as Turkey, would recognise.
But their bid failed. Organisers claimed the boat had sailed six nautical miles past the Israeli blockade. Despite reportedly breaking the siege line, Israeli forces surrounded the ship, detaining the t least 17 people aboard. The navel protesters were then taken to the busy port city of Ashdod, north of the blockaded strip. The second ship was returned to Gaza.
The vessel was making its way to Cyprus, transporting sick and wounded Gazans as well as those who could not find work in the enclave that has an unemployment rate of 44 per cent.
Yet the interception did not appear to matter to its organisers, who said they wanted to send a message to the world.
"This journey is symbolism, but we will continue to launch more activities to expose the Israeli crimes against Palestinians," Salah Abdul Atti, one of the organisers, told The National. "It is a message to ask for the lifting of the siege."
Other boats will attempt to break the siege from outside of Gaza later this month. The journeys are to coincide with the eighth anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 in which Israeli commandos killed ten Turkish activists.
It also came after the Israel killed scores of Gazans who have been holding weekly rallies since March 30 to protest the enclave’s living conditions. Some of those wounded while protesting took part in the flotilla.
Mahmoud Abu Attaia, 25 years old was shot with live ammunition in in his right leg during the first demonstration. He said he wanted to leave in order to continue needed treatment that he couldn’t afford in Gaza and Israel was preventing him from traveling to obtain elsewhere.
"I know that it is dangerous, but I don't have any other choices,” he said. “We want to live and travel see the outside world.”
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Read more:
Three Palestinians killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza
Safaa Odah: Gaza's besieged cartoonist turns pain into art
Comment: West's failure to act in Gaza will be cause of the next massacre
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Umm Mohammed Adalo, 38, arrived at the port to watch the departure with her husband and three children – one diagnosed with brain cancer who has been refused a transfer from Gaza through Egypt or Israel – to support the ship and its passengers.
"I come here to ask for our right in getting treatment outside of Gaza, I hope this journey succeeds so my son can travel by sea next time," she said.
For those on the ship, their dreams of breaching the blockade may not have been realised, but with every voyage of their ship, new hope and inspiration is given to their fellow Gazans.
“Each one of them is telling a painful story,” said Adham Abu Silmia, spokesperson of the committee of Breaking The Siege. “... All we seek is the freedom.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
