The vessel Kate has set sail from Hannover Quay in Bristol, southern England, carrying 12 people including its captain as part of a flotilla effort to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade.
Supporters gathered on Sunday to see off the Freedom Flotilla activists, including doctor Swee Ang, Welsh nurse Leigh Evans and professor David Miller. Irish sailor Fiacc O Brolchain is captaining the boat.
Who is aboard the vessel
Brolchain, who was detained by Israeli forces during an earlier mission this year, said his hearing aids were taken during interrogation. He said he repeatedly told the soldiers that he could not hear them because they had seized the devices.
Among those attending the departure was Ang, founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians. Evans previously appeared in footage from June 2025 kneeling before Egyptian soldiers and pleading to cross and deliver aid to Gaza. Miller recently won a legal case against the University of Bristol over his anti-Zionist views.
Related coverage: Jared Kushner heads to Israel and Egypt amid Gaza plan dispute.
A mission shaped by earlier interceptions
The source report says Israel has intercepted or attacked every flotilla that has attempted to breach the Gaza blockade since 2010, including in international waters. Frank Romano, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition member and international lawyer, said Israeli forces have intercepted and detained more than 75 solidarity ships and boats since October 2023.
Romano said he has pursued legal action to recover the vessels but has retrieved only two. His own boat, Handala, named after a character created by Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali, was intercepted and detained in July 2025.
What activists say happened on previous missions
Colm Byrne, an Irish activist sailing again after earlier attempts, said Israeli forces intercepted his boat in April when it was more than 1,000km, or 620 miles, from Gaza. He said flotilla members were kicked, beaten and forced into painful and humiliating positions, and that he suffered a shoulder injury.
More context: Khalil al-Hayya travels to Cairo before Kushner’s Gaza mission.
Byrne said activists spent four hours on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs before being transferred to prison, where they were told to walk with their heads down or risk being slapped. He said the treatment he experienced did not compare with the scale of abuse suffered by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Activists including Greta Thunberg have alleged physical and psychological abuse during detention; Israel has denied those allegations.
The wider flotilla effort
Romano said the Global Sumud Flotilla has cost $24m so far and includes scores of boats travelling in different waves. Its first mission launched last year, followed by a much larger mission in April.
Thunberg was among passengers detained by Israel when the flotilla boat Alma was intercepted in October. The departure of Kate represents another attempt by activists to reach Gaza with aid despite the risks associated with previous missions.
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