MILAN, ITALY - JUNE 9, 2025: Thousands of people took to the streets of Milan on Monday, June 9, to protest the Israeli army's interception of a humanitarian aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip. In response to the attack on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid and activists, two separate demonstrations were held in the city — one in Mercanti Square in the city center, and another in front of the Milan Prefecture. The vessel was stopped late Sunday night shortly before reaching its intended destination off the Gaza coast. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the move was in line with a naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007, which prohibits unauthorized vessels from entering the coastal territory. On June 1, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition sent the 18-meter Madleen from Catania, Italy, to break the blockade in Gaza and deliver aid. A total of 12 people on board, including 11 activists and one journalist, were detained. Among the people on board are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan; Yasemin Acar from Germany; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Türkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France. The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics, according to its organizers. As Israel has continued to close all Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian aid since early March, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza’s 2.4 million population. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.