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Israeli forces have taken control of a charity vessel carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg and 11 others who attempted to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The vessel, a British-flagged yacht named Madleen and operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), had planned to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza on Monday, including baby formula and rice, and draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis.
The FFC said on Telegram that the boat was boarded overnight before it could reach shore. Israel’s foreign ministry later confirmed it was under Israeli control.
The ministry described the Madleen as a “selfie yacht” and called the mission a publicity stunt.
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on X. All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added. “They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”
The boat carried 12 activists, including the Swedish climate campaigner and Rima Hassan, a French member of European parliament.
“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 am,” Ms Hassan wrote on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, wearing life jackets with their hands in the air.
Ms Thunberg’s pre-recorded video posted on the X account of FFC alleged the activists were “intercepted and kidnapped”. She called on her supporters to put “pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz had ordered the military to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
The Israeli defence ministry posted photos and videos of the activists on X. One photo showed Ms Thunberg smiling, and a video showed the IDF soldiers distributing food and water among activists. It said the activists were making their way safely to Israeli shores.
The foreign ministry said the aid carried by activists will be taken to Gaza. “The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” it wrote.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed more than 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents are facing famine.
The Israeli government says the blockade is essential to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.
The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, expressed support for the FFC operation and urged other boats to challenge the blockade.
“Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza,” she wrote on X.
