PARIS - Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists will set sail Sunday for Gaza on a humanitarian ship aimed at protesting Israel's war on the territory, a French-Palestinian lawmaker said.
The trip is organised by the Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only recently begun lifting.
Rima Hassan, a European Parliament member also taking part in the trip, said the operation had "several aims: to condemn the humanitarian blockade and ongoing genocide, the impunity granted to the state of Israel and raise international awareness."
Hassan, an outspoken figure for French left-wing party LFI, has caused controversy in the past with her statements on the Middle East.
She was due to visit the occupied Palestinian territories in February with a European Parliament delegation, but said she was refused entry to Israel.
Thunberg, who rose to fame organising teen climate protests in her native Sweden, was due to travel to Gaza on a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship earlier this month, but it was damaged en route.
Activists said they suspected an Israeli drone strike was responsible.
"To guarantee our security, and also the success of our mission, we need maximum mobilisation by the public for this initiative," Hassan said on social media.
Aid has begun trickling back into Gaza in recent days, but humanitarian groups warn the war-ravaged territory is facing mass starvation.
The White House said Thursday Israel had "signed off" on a new Gaza ceasefire proposal by US President Donald Trump, but Palestinian militant group Hamas said it could not accept the deal. - AFP