SHOTLIST: MEDITERRANEAN SEA (JUNE 8, 2025) (USERS MUST ON CREDIT YASEMIN ACAR VIA ZOOM - ACCESS ALL) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) YASEMIN ACAR, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ON MADLEEN SAILBOAT CARRYING HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA, SAYING: "Hi, so we are approximately 160 nautical miles away from Gaza. It's our eighth day and I don't know what time it is exactly right now, but it's the early afternoon and we have been notified earlier today by the Israeli media that some Navy ships have been sent on our way. So we have been notified by the Israeli media that there are Navy ships sent our way. We are not sure of this information because it comes from the Israeli media. However, we have just been notified by our land team that our internet jamming has started officially and we can definitely see this from our connection because it has slowed down immensely. That means we could be cut out from the world at any moment. That's why we rely on everyone, the millions around the world that have stood up for Gaza for 20 months and who are supporting us on this journey, on the journey of delivering humanitarian aid to a population that is being starved for almost four months now. We're talking about two million people, a population that has been going through a genocide for almost two years and our vessel is carrying nothing but humanitarian aid. It's a nonviolent mission that we are on. We are in international waters heading towards the waters of the Gaza territory and if anything was to happen to us, meaning if the IAF would show violence against the humanitarian mission, humanitarian aid, this would be yet another war crime because we are not in their territories. They are occupying the territory of Gaza, which means this is a breach of international law. We are not in the territories of Israel. We are within the law and if again, Israel was to do something, it's them reaching international law by attacking us or intercepting us or blocking us. Well, the next 24 hours are very crucial. Our plan was to reach Gaza by tomorrow morning and yes, as I said, currently we are approximately 160 nautical miles away. So again, the next 24 hours are very, very crucial for us to reach Gaza. Looking at the history of the freedom of the letter has been attacks in 2010, this claimed 10 lives and four weeks ago we were attacked by a drone in Malta, meaning in the European territory, Europe has stayed silent. Europe did not condemn this attack, took accountability and conducted an investigation. But again, if there was something to happen, the question should be asked to the Israeli occupation forces, why would they use such violence and why would they put the Palestinian population through such a violence for 20 months and why would they see us as a threat carrying nothing but humanitarian aid on a humanitarian mission. If there was something to happen, again, we've been saying this for many, many years and for the past days, we are a nonviolent action. We carry no weapons, we are not looking for violence. All we are looking for is to bring this aid to the starving population in the face of a world being silent about it and shipping weapons instead of shipping humanitarian aid and lifting the illegal blockade on Gaza. Yes, they are saying that they will intercept our boat, take us to Astot and then to prison and then from there they will deport us. We don't know what that exactly means. Anything is possible because we know that Israel has crossed every red line and even them coming into European territory to attack us four weeks ago is showing that there is no red line that they are not willing to cross and the impunity of Israel is enjoying because the international community is keeping silent for 20 months. So we wouldn't be surprised if they would not grant a safe passage. But this is what we're demanding from the European Union, from the international community for a safe passage and for us to open up the humanitarian, people's humanitarian sea corridor. And what we most importantly demand is to lift the siege, to break the legal siege and to bring in aid that has been waiting on the borders of Gaza for many, many months and the starvation is not something that has happened for three months ago. This has been going on since the beginning of the genocide. And even before that the illegal blockade did not happen during the genocide. It's siege, an illegal inhumane siege for over a decade now and the international community has stayed silent in the face of this illegal blockade and this is the only reason why Israel is putting a siege on top of a siege. We have not received any direct connection from the Israeli regime. We only hear whatever statement they put out in the media and this is the only thing that we've been following. But direct contact has not been established yet. But we expect them to contact us right before anything they're planning to do to us. We are in high, yes, we are all doing well and we've been doing well for the past days. Because what we are doing is exactly what our politicians should do. We are the ones, not us, but the millions around the world. This is just, the Medivh is just a small fraction of a global uprising. And we are the ones, the millions around the world who stand with the Palestinian people upholding international law, upholding human rights. And most importantly, we are the ones showing humanity, which we would expect all of these three things to be done by our politicians, by our leaders, because we are the ones voting them into power. And this action should also show our leaders very much that people can make a nation or they can break a nation. We are still calling the shots because we are more than them. And we are not going to sit here and watch children being bombed to pieces, mothers, fathers, digging the graves with bare hands for their children, picking up the pieces of their children, of their loved ones. We are not here to watch when Palestinians go through AIDS, not being able to celebrate it, but having to dig the graves of their loved ones. This is not just, this is injustice. And what we need in this world is justice. A lot of people are talking, especially the Israelis, are talking all the time, these peace talks. There is no peace coming from people that carry weapons, that give out weapons to the civil population of Israel, who feed their children with propaganda, who feed the world with propaganda. So what needs to happen is justice, because where there is justice, there is automatically peace. We cannot overstep justice and speak about peace before establishing justice." MEDITERRANEAN SEA - JUNE 8:Israeli forces have begun implementing an internet blackout against the humanitarian sailboat Madleen, activists on board reported, as the vessel attempts to break Israel's blockade on Gaza to deliver urgently needed aid. Yasemin Acar, a human rights activist with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), told Anadolu Agency on Sunday, June 8 that communications were being deliberately disrupted while the ship was approximately 160 nautical miles from Gaza in international waters. Acar said crew the boat is approximately 160 nautical miles from Gaza, and Israel has started jamming their internet connection. “We can definitely see this from our connection because it has slowed down immensely. That means we could be cut out from the world at any moment." The vessel, carrying 12 activists—including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham—set sail from Catania, Italy, on June 1 with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade on Gaza and delivering urgently needed aid. She emphasized that the mission is entirely nonviolent, carrying only humanitarian supplies, including baby formula, flour, medical equipment, and prosthetics for children. Acar emphasized their legal position, stating: "If Israel uses violence against this humanitarian mission, it would be yet another war crime. We're not in their territorial waters - they're the occupying power in Gaza. Any interception would violate international law." The activist referenced two precedents of lethal force against aid flotillas: The 2010 Mavi Marmara raid that killed 10 activists, A drone attack on their sister ship Conscience in Maltese waters just four weeks ago. "Europe has stayed silent," Acar noted. The Israeli Navy is preparing to intercept the humanitarian vessel "Madleen" as it approaches Gaza’s waters, with plans to forcibly redirect it to Ashdod port, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Sunday. The military aims to halt the ship before it enters Gaza’s territorial waters, citing its enforcement of the naval blockade, the news channel reported. The activists on board will be handed over to Israeli authorities for deportation, Channel 12 also reported “They are saying that they will intercept our boat, take us to Astot and then to prison and then from there they will deport us" Acar said. "But Israel has crossed every red line - even attacking us in European waters. Their impunity continues because the world stays silent." She called on the European Union and the international community “for a safe passage” and “to open up the humanitarian, people's humanitarian sea corridor.” Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants. Writing by Sibel Uygun