/ Coalition statements, Featured, News, Press releases / By alex 

For immediate release, Thursday April 25.

The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the trip to Gaza.

However, today we received word of an administrative roadblock initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent our departure. Israel is pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from our lead ship—Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”). This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delays our April 26 planned departure.

This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine. How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?

This is not the first time that Israel has used these kinds of tactics to stop our ships from sailing. We have overcome them before and are diligently working to overcome this latest attempt. Our vessels have already passed all required inspections and we are confident that the Akdeniz will pass this inspection provided there is no political interference. We expect this to be no more than a few days delay. Israel will not break our resolve to reach the people of Gaza.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: In Khan Younis, the Palestinian Civil Defence recovered nearly 300 bodies from a mass grave at the Nasser Medical Complex AND it says there are more under the rubble, with search efforts continuing. Mads Gilbert, Norwegian physician and a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromso has more. (Video: TNT 24 April 2024)

Mandla Mandela, member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul yesterday, as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza.

Mandela is also the Ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine. When he met with flotilla participants yesterday he stated: “It was not only our efforts in South Africa that defeated the Apartheid regime, but it was (also) efforts in every corner of the world through international solidarity of the anti-Apartheid campaign.” He said, that while his grandfather was incarcerated for life imprisonment on Robben Island, he drew emmense inspiration from the Palestinian struggle. He added that Palestine “was the greatest moral issue of our time, yet many government choose to remain silent and look away. Many have been complicit in the genocide, the ethnic cleansing, the war crimes, and crimes against humanity that have been meted out on a daily basis against our Palestinian brothers and sisters – not just the 7th of October, but for the past 76 years.”

Mandela chats with Dr Adnan Ali, leader of the Kia Ora Gaza team from Aotearoa/NZ. (Photo: Kia Ora Gaza)

Here is the list of nationwide activities this weekend:

Video: Anadolu News Agency, 20 April 2024

Freedom Flotilla participants for all around the world, including the team of Kiwi doctors, join in a massive demonstration of solidarity for Gaza in Istanbul yesterday. The international flotilla ships are due to head for Gaza to deliver 5,500 tons of humanitarian & medical aid this week.

Thursday, 18 April 2024
Press Release: Aotearoa Healthcare Workers For Palestine

Dr Wasfi Shahin, Dr Faiez Idais and Dr Adnan Al-Kenani are three Kiwi doctors bringing humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza as part of Kia Ora Gaza’s Freedom Flotilla. They left from Auckland International Airport at 11am today. AHW4P committee members, Nurse Practitioner Mikey Brenndorfer and Occupational Therapist Romelli Rodriguez-Jolly, joined the supporters gathered to bid them farewell.

“We at Aotearoa Healthcare Workers for Palestine would like to extend our gratitude to our medical colleagues for their courage and wish them all the best in their humanitarian mission”, said AHW4P spokesperson Dr Raisa Ahmed. “We encourage everyone to donate to Kia Ora Gaza for this very important mission. Above all, we hope they will succeed and return home safely.”

TNA meets activists from Freedom Flotilla Coalition on the Akdeniz ship seeking to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, hoping to bring relief to its people

By Salwa Amor, the New Arab, 20 April, 2024

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Palestine solidarity activists are preparing a flotilla to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, vowing to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory on board the Akdeniz, a seven-floor passenger ship.

Currently docked in Istanbul, the boat will carry 800 people from over 30 nations, from Indonesia to Hawaii, and is expected to transport 5500 tonnes of aid to Gaza once it sets sail from Turkey in the coming days.

Freedom Flotilla statement

International participants arrive to sail with Freedom Flotilla to Break the Siege

ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE: Hours ago, the media reported that Israel has attacked Iran. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition stands here to remind the world that with all the escalation between Israel and Iran, the killing is occurring in Gaza. While those two countries go back and forth, we cannot let Israel distract the world from what is causing far more death, disease, and destruction: Israel’s policies of starving and continued bombardment of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children.

On Friday, hundreds of civilians from dozens of countries [including Aotearoa/New Zealand] are meeting in Istanbul to prepare to sail very soon for Gaza, carrying thousands of tons of life-saving food and medicine. The Freedom Flotilla aims to break Israel’s unlawful siege of Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire to save the lives of thousands of Palestinians. 

A passionate haka (pictured above) reverberated throughout the Auckland Airport today, as a medical team of three Kiwi doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters, before flying out to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors hope to be able to reach Gaza and join with other flotilla medics to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid and treat wounded patients in the war-ravaged enclave. Their participation is facilitated by Kia Ora Gaza. (Photo: Jo Currie)

Kiwi medics, Dr Shahin, Dr Idais and Dr Ali salute the airport gathering. (Photo: Achmat Eesau)

Part of the crowd of well-wishers at the airport. (Photo: Jo Currie)

The three Kiwi doctors with fellow health workers at the airport send-off today (Photo: Jo Currie)

Here are the rallies and events this weekend:

VIDEO: Having worked with Doctors Without Borders all over the world as a surgeon and physician, Carlos Trotta says that the Freedom Flotilla isn’t just needed, but is absolutely critical.

Carlos is a physician and surgeon from Argentina and is one of the people on board the Freedom Flotilla due to set sail in April. He worked in Gaza as a physician for MSF in 2009 saying the conditions were appalling then. He now describes the situation as an emergency. (Video by Freedom Flotilla Coalition, 17 April 2024)

[Ed: Support the Freedom Flotilla and our three Kiwi doctors on board, and follow progress on kiaoragaza.net Donations can by made by direct payment to our Kia Ora Gaza Trust account: 03-0211-0447718-000]

Retired U.S. Army Colonel & former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright introduces our upcoming Freedom Flotilla Coalition emergency mission to #BreakTheSiege and #EndTheBlockade of Gaza that has collectively punished Palestinians in Gaza for 17 years. Read more: https://freedomflotilla.org/2024-miss…

Kia Ora Gaza is facilitating the participation of three Kiwi doctors on this mission.

If you’re in Auckland, please join the farewell at the Auckland International Airport upstairs at the departure area from 10:30am on Thursday 18 April.

Follow progress on our website kiaoragaza.net and freedomflotilla.org

/ Actions, Coalition statements, Featured, News, Uncategorized / By alex 

Dear Mr Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon,

We call on the NZ Government to demand the Israeli authorities end their inhumane blockade and siege and allow the international Freedom Flotilla safe and unhindered passage to their destination – Gaza 

We are pleased to announce that a team of three New Zealand doctors have been selected to join the international Freedom Flotilla which is due to sail for Gaza very soon.

Our Kiwi team of volunteer doctors are Dr Wasfy Shahin and Dr Faiez Idais to be led by Dr Adnan Ali.

They will be joined by hundreds of prominent civilians, human rights advocates and medics from around the world, plus international media personnel on this peaceful non-governmental, civil-society mission to challenge the illegal and inhumane 17-year Israeli naval blockade and siege of Gaza and to deliver urgently needed humanitarian and medical aid and services.

Our NZ medical team’s participation in this important humanitarian mission has been facilitated by Kia Ora Gaza and supported by many hundreds of fellow New Zealanders. We expect our government to resolutely uphold their safety and well-being.

This mission seeks to bring a message of hope and solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for peace and justice and to highlight demands to end Israel’s illegal siege and deprivation of Gaza, the bombing, and the occupation.

As with previous international humanitarian flotillas to Gaza, the current mission poses no threat whatsoever to Israel. However, in light of the urgent need for aid, Israel’s non-compliance of ICJ orders, and their illegal interception and seizure of previous Gaza-bound boats in international waters, we call on the NZ Government to urgently demand the Israeli (and US) authorities lift the siege, implement a permanent ceasefire and allow the Freedom Flotilla safe and unhindered passage to reach their destination and deliver humanitarian and medical aid.

Yours sincerely,

Roger Fowler QSM, 

Chair, Kia Ora Gaza.

John Minto,

National Chair,

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa.

Janfrie Wakim

Spokesperson 

Palestine Human Rights Campaign.

Maher Nazzal 

Co-founder Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee – PACC

Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants

Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem and Harry Davies The Guardian, Thursday 4 April 2024

The Israeli military’s bombing campaign in Gaza used a previously undisclosed AI-powered database that at one stage identified 37,000 potential targets based on their apparent links to Hamas, according to intelligence sources involved in the war.

Media Release, Freedom Flotilla Coalition, 4 April 2024

The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) will sail in mid April with multiple vessels, carrying 5500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. This is an emergency mission as the situation in Gaza is dire, with famine setting in in northern Gaza, and catastrophic hunger present throughout the Gaza Strip as the result of a deliberate policy by the Israeli government to starve the Palestinian people. Time is critical as experts predict that hunger and disease could claim more lives than have been killed in the bombing.

Getting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is urgent, but it is not sufficient. We must end Israel’s unlawful, deadly blockade as well as Israel’s overall control of Gaza. Allowing Israel to control what and how much humanitarian aid can get to Palestinians in Gaza is like letting the fox manage the henhouse.  And yet, this is what the international community of states is allowing by refusing to sanction Israel and defy its genocidal policies in order to ensure that enough aid reaches the trapped, beleaguered and bombarded civilian population.

The Cyprus maritime corridor, the U.S. floating pier project, and symbolic air drops of food are all distractions from the fact that these methods of aid delivery are insufficient, and still leave Israel in control of what aid can get to the Palestinian people, all while Israel actively prevents thousands of aid trucks from entering Gaza through the land crossings.

On January 26 the International Court of Justice ruled that, ‘the State of Israel remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said Order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.’ On March 28, the ICJ ordered additional preliminary measures, which included requiring the Israeli forces to stop “preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance” to Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has long violated its responsibility as occupying power to ensure the health and wellbeing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Now, it is engaging in full scale genocidal conduct in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war. Israeli military and political leaders have repeatedly declared their intention to collectively punish the entire population of Gaza, including by denying them food, water and other life-sustaining aid. We therefore reject Israel’s control over the humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and reject any Israeli inspection of our cargo.For everyone’s safety and to ensure aid is delivered to those who need it, the FFC is bringing hundreds of international humanitarian observers, from many countries and different backgrounds.

“The International Court of Justice’s preliminary measures ordered against Israel are very clear” comments Ismail Moola of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. “The court’s ruling requires the whole world to play their part to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza, including unobstructed access to vital aid. While our governments fail to lead in these urgently required humanitarian responses, people of conscience and our grassroots organizations must act to take leadership. When governments fail, we sail!”

The FFC is a non-partisan international coalition of campaigns who stand for freedom and human rights. We have sailed since 2010 with the goal of breaking the blockade of Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians cries for freedom and equality. Our non-violent direct action missions support the dignity and humanity of Palestinians, working with civil society partners, rather than any party, faction or government.

/ Featured, News, Press releases / By zohar

…………

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Freedom Flotilla media spokespeople

NOTE: Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. We have facilitated and sponsored many Kiwis on six international solidarity land convoys and flotillas to break the illegal siege of Gaza. This time three Kiwi doctors have volunteered to represent the country and offer their services if the flotilla ships reach Gaza.

Please donate generously to this important and urgent mission.

HOW TO DONATE TO KIA ORA GAZA

Make a direct payment to our bank account: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehunga branch. Afterwards, email office@kiaoragaza.net with your deposit details so we can send you an e-receipt.

The Kia Ora Gaza Trust is a Charitable Trust incorporated with the Companies Office under the Charitable Trusts Act. However we are not registered with IRD for tax deduction purposes, as Kia Ora Gaza is deemed to be mainly an advocacy group.

Rallies and events near you this weekend – be there!

Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition – a grassroots solidarity movement of different campaigns and activists across the world who are working together to end the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

With the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the increased violence against all Palestinians living under Israeli oppression and occupation, our work is now more important than ever.

Since forming in 2010, Kia Ora Gaza has successfully participated in six non-violent direct challenges to the inhumane Israeli siege of Gaza;

Lifeline to Gaza land convoy (2010)

Miles of Smiles land convoy (2012)

Research visit (2012)

Freedom Flotilla 3 to Gaza (2015)

Women’s Boat to Gaza (2016)

Right to a Just Future for Palestine (2018)

This year we are again joining with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Save Gaza Campaign and planning three separate actions that will deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as challenge the illegal Israeli blockade and siege of the enclave. 

Kia Ora Gaza is planning to send a medical team from NZ on this flotilla.

We need your support. 

Please consider donating to (and sharing!) our fundraising appeal and help us Break the Siege of Gaza.

HOW TO DONATE TO KIA ORA GAZA

Make a direct payment to our bank account: Kia Ora Gaza Trust, 03-0211-0447718-000, Westpac Bank, Onehunga branch. Afterwards, email office@kiaoragaza.net with your deposit details so we can send you an e-receipt.

The Kia Ora Gaza Trust is a Charitable Trust incorporated with the Companies Office under the Charitable Trusts Act. However we are not registered with IRD for tax deduction purposes, as Kia Ora Gaza is deemed to be mainly an advocacy group.

For more information of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition visit  – https://freedomflotilla.org/

Earlier posts about this flotilla:

https://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2024/03/12/palestinians-in-gaza-need-aid-not-more-us-led-interference/

https://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2024/02/11/freedom-flotilla-is-on-the-move-break-the-siege-of-gaza/