Ship Kate Departs Bristol in Bid to Break Gaza Blockade
Mariam Elsayeh
A ship named Kate departed Bristol, England, on August 8 with 12 activists aiming to break Israel's blockade of Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla's latest campaign. The mission comes despite past interceptions and attacks, with activists sharing accounts of detainment and abuse.
On August 8, a ship named Kate set sail from Bristol Harbour in southern England as part of the Freedom Flotilla's efforts to break the Gaza blockade. The event unfolded against a backdrop of previous similar campaigns that were largely intercepted or attacked by Israel.
Organizers said the vessel carries 12 crew members, including captain Fiacc O Brolchain, an Irish sailor. He had previously been detained by Israeli forces during an earlier mission and recounted that his hearing aid was confiscated during interrogation. He recalled repeatedly telling Israeli soldiers: “I can't hear you; you've taken my hearing aid.”
The send-off at Hannover Quay in Bristol drew numerous supporters. Among those present were Dr. Swee Ang, founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP); Welsh nurse Leigh Evans, who appeared in a viral video in June 2025 kneeling before Egyptian soldiers to seek permission to enter Gaza for aid work; and Professor David Miller, who recently won a legal case against the University of Bristol concerning his anti-Zionist stance.
Since 2010, Israel has intercepted or attacked ships attempting to break the Gaza blockade, including in international waters. International lawyer Frank Romano, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition member representing Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said that since October 2023, Israeli forces have intercepted and detained over 75 solidarity vessels. He has filed lawsuits to reclaim these ships but has succeeded in only two cases.
Romano owns the ship Handala, named after a character by the late Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali, which was intercepted and detained in July 2025. The Freedom Flotilla campaign, called the Global Sumud Flotilla, which he is involved in, has cost around $24 million, involving dozens of ships in multiple waves, with the first mission last year and a larger one in April.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has also joined the movement and was among the passengers detained by Israel when the ship Alma was intercepted in October. She and other activists accused Israeli forces of physical and psychological abuse during detention, though Israel denied these allegations.
Colm Byrne, an Irish activist on this voyage, had participated in previous campaigns. He recounted that in April, more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza, their ship was intercepted by Israeli forces. He was kicked, beaten, and forced into painful positions, sustaining a shoulder injury. Byrne said activists were forced to kneel for four hours with hands tied behind their backs before being taken to prison, where they were compelled to keep their heads down or face slaps.
Nevertheless, he stressed that the mistreatment they endured could not be compared to the scale of abuse suffered by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
