Madleen Kulab, Gaza's first and only fisherwoman, who embodies strength, resistance and resilience, gave her name and spirit to the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla’s 2025 vessel that sought to break Israel’s unlawful blockade and deliver aid to the besieged territory. While the aid ship did not reach Gaza, it showed a hauntingly silent world, what it looks like to take an action against a live streamed genocide which has been unfolding from the past two and a half years.

Madleen Kulab, born and raised in Gaza City, defied tradition and conflict alike to pursue her love for the sea. At just 13, she began fishing with her father, eventually becoming the first and only professional fisherwoman in Gaza. In a male-dominated trade, she earned respect not just for her skill, but for her leadership as she founded the Madleen Fishing Club, a community initiative to encourage women to take up fishing, despite legal, economic and cultural barriers.

Her life, however, has been marked by tragedy and hardship after Israel began its genocidal war in Gaza in 2023. In November 2023, her father was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Her boat and equipment were destroyed during subsequent bombings. She and her family became displaced, impoverished, and cut off from the sea that once gave them purpose.

Madleen, her husband, Khader Bakr– also a fisherman and their three children, with Madleen nearly nine months pregnant were forced to flee Gaza City. They moved to Khan Younis, then Rafah, Deir el-Balah and Nuseirat before returning in January 2025 to their home, which now was in ruins.

During her displacement, Madleen gave birth to her fourth child Waseela, in Khan Younis under dire conditions. With no pain relief or medical care available, she endured a difficult birth and was forced to leave the hospital immediately due to the lack of beds. She and her newborn slept on the floor in a crowded shelter with 40 other displaced relatives, struggling to find basic necessities like baby formula and diapers.

The Vessel Madleen: A Flotilla of Resistance

 by the United Nations. Israel's ongoing genocide and complete aid blockade since March 2025 has been starving 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza. Infrastructure, including water, electricity, healthcare has collapsed due to Israel's continuous siege and bombardments in the territory.

 departed from Catania, Sicily, on June 1, 2025, with a crew of 12 volunteers from 10 countries, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan, carrying a modest but vital cargo including baby formula, medical kits, prosthetics, flour, and water filters. The mission aimed to break Israel’s unlawful aid blockade in Gaza, draw global attention to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, challenge the legality and morality of the ongoing Israeli blockade and emphasize international responsibility under humanitarian law. 

 a network of international human rights activists, chose to name its 2025 mission vessel Madleen in honor of Kulab. 

“Named after Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman in 2014, Madleen symbolizes the unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel's use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies. Her launch comes just one month after Israeli drones bombed Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla aid ship, in international waters off the coast of Malta- underscoring both the urgency and the danger of this mission to break the siege on Gaza,” 

Madleen learned of the ship through an Irish activist friend and expressed gratitude for the solidarity mission. 

“I was deeply moved. I felt an enormous sense of responsibility and a little pride,”

Interception by Israeli Forces in International Waters

On June 9, 2025, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Madleen in international waters approximately 130 nautical miles from Gaza. Israeli warships disabled the ship’s communications, deployed drones, and boarded the vessel at dawn. All 12 passengers were detained and later deported from Ashdod port. The ship's aid cargo was confiscated.

The move sparked international condemnation as it was a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Protests erupted in Paris, Madrid, Istanbul, and New York, calling for an end to the siege and for accountability for what human rights groups have called the 

Kulab told Al Jazeera as she heard the news of the ship being intercepted. 

“I strongly anticipated this scenario, but I was truly hoping for a miracle that somehow the ship would break the blockade and reach Gaza.”

“This ship’s story mirrors my own and the story of every tired, 

“We are just a media wave - it rises sharply, then fades just as fast, and we are left to face our pain in silence.”

Despite losing everything, Kulab’s story became a symbol of strength, dignity, survival, and resistance under siege. Though the vessel named after her has been intercepted, the message it carried continues to sail: a call for resistance, freedom, dignity and a future for Gaza. 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.

Articles by Habeeba Haneef Mohammad

Madleen Kulab: The Palestinian woman who inspired Freedom Flotilla's mission to break Israel's aid blockade in Gaza

Madleen Kulab: The Palestinian woman who inspired Freedom Flotilla's mission to break Israel's aid blockade in Gaza