The Freedom Flotilla vessel Madleen is approaching the Gaza coast now. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz just said, “The state of Israel will not allow anyone to violate the naval blockade on Gaza.”
FreedomFlotilla #GazaFreedomFlotilla #Madleen
Humanitarian Situation Update #294 | Gaza Strip
Key Highlights
- The UN calls for investigations into the killing and injury of Palestinians trying to access food through the new militarized distribution hubs in Gaza.
- More than 2,700 children under five years of age were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in the second half of May, reflecting a sharp deterioration, according to the Nutrition Cluster.
- Only 38 per cent of 564 health service points across Gaza are functional, all of them partially, with only one medical point partially functional in North Gaza.
- While more than 640,000 people have been displaced again in the past three months, the Israeli authorities have not allowed the entry of any shelter supplies.
- Since 18 March, more than 40,000 children have lost access to critical services following the suspension of 50 child protection centres.
- Restrictions, hurdles and hostilities have made humanitarian aid deliveries into and across Gaza grossly insufficient, unsafe, unpredictable and inefficient.
Humanitarian Developments
- Since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations. This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), as of 3 June, more than 640,000 Palestinians in Gaza were displaced between 18 March and 3 June. Over 202,000 of them have been displaced since mid-May, of whom 54 per cent were in the two northern governorates. With no safe place to go, many people have sought refuge in makeshift shelters and overcrowded displacement sites. People have been confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 82 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within Israeli-militarized zones or placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.
Humanitarian Situation Update #294 | Gaza Strip, United Nations Office for the Coordination of International Affairs, June 5, 2025
Thunberg said that “we are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. The world cannot be silent bystanders, Every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine.”
Greta Thunberg aboard the Madleen
ANKARA
The aid ship “Madleen” has entered Egyptian waters on its way to Gaza, despite Israeli warnings to prevent it from docking, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza announced Sunday.
The committee, one of the aid flotilla organizers, said in a statement that the ship has passed through Alexandria, northern Egypt, and will “in hours reach Mansoura city… en route to Gaza.”
“The coming hours will be most critical,” the statement read.
Shortly, the committee also issued a statement warning that Israel is trying to block the ship’s location and signal. “It seems Israel is jamming our colleagues’ location and signal on the Madleen (vessel).”
“This is serious… We’ll keep you posted,” the statement added.
The committee also published an electronic link to live track the vessel, urging for sharing the link “all over the internet.”
“Israel is preparing to commit a war crime in the middle of international waters,” it also said.
Yasemin Acar, an activist on board the Madleen flotilla, also confirmed that “the communication blackout has officially begun.”
“If you don’t hear from us in the coming hours, it means we have been cut off from the world… Remember we are doing this for Gaza,” she also said.
The warnings by the organizers come as the Israeli army is preparing to intercept Madleen vessel, tow it to Ashdod port, and then deport the activists on board, according to Israeli media.
Gaza-bound aid flotilla with 12 activists on board nears Gaza coast despite Israeli warning. – ‘Israel is jamming our colleagues’ location and signal on Madleen (vessel),’ one of aid flotilla organizers says, warning Israel is preparing ‘to commit a war crime in the middle of international waters’ by Ahmed Asmar, AA, 08.06.2025
Finding ways to deliver lifesaving aid in Gaza
As the hunger crisis deepens in Gaza, our team is doing all that they can to deliver humanitarian relief despite extraordinary obstacles. In recent weeks, AFSC and partners have provided over 4,000 meals daily to displaced Palestinians.
Since March 2, the Israeli government has blocked aid— food, medicine, and other vital supplies—from entering Gaza as it continues its extensive bombing. Our efforts grow more urgent by the day as more people face starvation and supplies dwindle.
In late May, an organization staffed by security forces and created by Israel and the U.S. attempted to distribute aid while experienced global humanitarian organizations were denied access to Gaza. This is an extraordinary breach of humanitarian practice. Also, the Israeli military recently opened fire on starving people waiting for food, killing at least 30 people at these militarized sites.
While the overall situation remains dire, our team has found ways to persist in their relief efforts. Thanks to our longstanding partnerships, they are continuing to procure food and other essentials from within Gaza. Last month, our staff located two community kitchens that still had some raw materials. These kitchens agreed to cook what they had so we could deliver hot meals to displaced people in makeshift camps and schools converted to shelters.
In addition to providing hot meals, AFSC has worked with local farmers in Gaza to distribute fresh vegetables to displaced families. We have also continued to provide drinking water, milk and diapers for babies, hygiene kits, and more.
We are so grateful to everyone who has supported our efforts. Every meal distributed, every hygiene kit delivered, and every jug of clean water provided is crucial in this moment. As our staff member Serena says, “We are talking about very essential life-saving services and supplies. Water and food are not aid. They are the foundation of life.”
The work of our staff and partners is far from easy. There are grave risks involved in all that they do.
“These past months since the ceasefire was broken have been more brutal than the previous year and a half combined,” Serena says. “But the most difficult part has been the repeated forced displacement orders—more than 80 evacuation orders in 17 months.”
Every day, we continue to hold Serena, Firas, and all Palestinians in the Light as they face the unimaginable. We remain committed to doing all that we can to bring an end to this preventable crisis.
I hope you keep standing with us. To see more of this vital work in action, please watch the video above. And please keep up your calls and emails to Congress to demand humanitarian access for Gaza to save lives.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Finding ways to deliver lifesaving aid in Gaza. Our team in Gaza is overcoming challenges to meet mounting needs amid the deepening man-made humanitarian crisis. By Kerri Kennedy, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), June 5, 2025
unflinching 