Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has set sail for Gaza along with a group of 11 other activists in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to the region.

Non-profit organization Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announced one of its vessels departed from the Italian coast on Monday, carrying what the group called a “limited” but “symbolic” amount of relief supplies for the war-torn region, USA Today reported.

Thunberg told reporters the group was undertaking the mission, in spite of the risks, because “it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocided.”

Israel vehemently rejects accusations it is carrying out a genocide, telling the International Court of Justice in January those claims are “grossly distorted.”

Activists from FFC said their ship was struck by a drone attack during a voyage to Gaza in early May. The group blamed Israel for the attack, though that claim remains unverified and Israel has not commented on the incident.

“We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity,” Thunberg told reporters at a conference before the departure.

FFC said the operation was “a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza. 

Thunberg posted a video aboard the ship, saying the group was sailing towards Gaza “to try and break the siege and open up a humanitarian corridor.”

The activist, who rose to prominence as a teenager for promoting protests against climate change, encouraged her supporters to “continue flooding the streets” and called on others to “organize, boycott and do everything in your power to stand for Palestine.”

PETITION: Canada Stands With Israel!

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Hamas terrorists butchered civilians in Israel — and now their supporters are marching openly in Canadian cities. Our leaders must take a stand against this hate before it spreads further. Sign the petition and demand Canada stand with Israel, confront terrorism, and protect our values.

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