As Gaza Struggles For Food, The 'Onion Knight' Sets Sail With Greta Thunberg

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, and European Member of Parliament Rima Hassan are set to join the sailing of a humanitarian aid ship to Gaza this weekend. The group, which also consists of several other high-profile activists, will board the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC) ship "Madleen" from Catania in Sicily on Sunday to deliver vital supplies "to break Israel's illegal siege, to stop their starvation of Palestinians... [and] their genocide in Gaza,"  according to the ativist group.

The sailing of "Madleen" marks the second attempt by FFC-- a coalition of humanitarian groups-- to reach Gaza in recent months. FFC vessel "Conscience" first attempted to reach Gaza in May, but the mission was aborted after the ship came under an alleged drone attack while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.

The FFC blamed Israel for the attack, which severely damaged the vessel. The Jewish State has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the alleged attack.

Meanwhile, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, has warned the passengers of  "Madleen" to "stay safe," and asked the international community to "make sure they are protected," according to Israeli daily Haaretz.

The 'Onion Knight' In Gaza

Sixty-three-year-old Cunningham, who played Davos Seaworth in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, is are longtime advocate for Palestine and similar causes. Interestingly, his character is known as the "Onion Knight" in the series due to his initial role as a smuggler who brought crucial supplies to the starving defenders of Storm's End during Robert's Rebellion, similar to his FFC voyage bringing crucial supplies for starving Gazans. 

"What concerns me is that the people who do care and are not doing anything are, in my opinion, worse than the people who don't care. It's live-streamed, this genocide- and the option to say you didn't know is not an option, you did know and you did nothing, you stayed quiet," Cunningham said about the mission, run by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).

Meet some of the panelists, volunteers and supporters joining the launch of ‘Madleen' in Catania, Sicily about to sail to break Israel's illegal siege of Gaza. ⛵️#AllEyesOnDeck #BreakTheSiege https://t.co/ZoCnr45S3I @RimaHas pic.twitter.com/IqAhOSHBv9

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 29, 2025

Thunberg, 20, also criticised the international community for not doing enough for people in Gaza and said, "The world cannot be silent bystanders."

"This silence and passivity that we are seeing from most of the world is deadly. We are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. Every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine," she said. 

Food Crisis In Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians are on the verge of starvation after Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to Gaza on March 2, as it ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas and resumed its military offensive in Palestinian territory. The Jewish state said the steps were meant to put pressure on the armed group to release the hostages still held in Gaza.

Under growing international pressure, Israel partially lifted the 11-week-long aid blockade last week, allowing limited supplies to enter Gaza, which the United Nations called a "drop in the ocean".