Greta Thunberg and a group of activists sailing to Gaza in an attempt to deliver aid have been detained by the Israeli military after it intercepted and seized their vessel, Madleen, early on Monday.
The group, known as the the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is protesting Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since the Second World War, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some two million Palestinians at risk of famine.
-
![]()
Palestinians say Israeli fire killed 12 near aid sites, Israel says it fired warning shots -
![]()
Israel retrieves body of Thai hostage as 95 people reported killed in Gaza -
![]()
Palestinians hold Eid al-Adha prayers at graveyards, ruins of mosques -
![]()
Bodies of Canadian killed in Hamas attack has been recovered -
![]()
At least 27 killed after Israeli soldiers open fire near Gaza aid site, Hamas says
The coalition said the activists had been “kidnapped by Israeli forces” during their efforts to deliver aid.
“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated,” it said in a statement, adding that the ship was seized in international waters about 200 kilometres from Gaza.
-
![]()
Greta Thunberg, activists set sail to Gaza after earlier aid vessel attacked at sea -
![]()
Greta Thunberg vows fight will continue after Gaza aid ship attacked by drones near Malta -
![]()
Greta Thunberg speaks at pro-Palestinian rally in Milan: ‘You cannot be neutral in a genocide’ -
![]()
Greta Thunberg arrested by Danish police at pro-Palestinian protest
Israeli authorities said the mission is a “media provocation.”
Get breaking National news
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.
It also claimed, without presenting any video evidence, that aid is pouring into Gaza from Israel and through other humanitarian channels.
“More than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza,” the post said.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the ship was still en route to Israel around midday Monday, according to The Associated Press.
Those on board, including Thunberg, are eventually expected to return to their home countries.
Thunberg and 11 other activists set sail aboard Madleen from Sicily a week ago with plans to deliver aid to civilians in Gaza. On Thursday, it stopped to rescue four migrants who had abandoned ship to avoid being captured by the Libyan coast guard.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament with Palestinian heritage, is also among the volunteers on board. She is not allowed to enter Israel and is among six French volunteers on Madleen.
French president Emmanuel Macron requested that Israel return them to France as soon as possible.
According to Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, also on board is Yasemin Acar from Germany, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Sergio Toribio from Spain, Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.
Adalah, which is representing the coalition, says the state had “no legal authority” to seize the ship because it was sailing in international waters and en route to “territorial waters of the state of Palestine,” not Israel, when it was intercepted at about 3:00 a.m. local time on Monday.
“The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law,” Adalah wrote in a statement on Monday, adding that the flotilla never intended to enter Israeli waters and that it never did.
However, also on Monday, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, said the ship was on its way to Israel and was expected to dock at the port of Ashdod, a town about 383 kilometres north of the Gaza Strip. As of this writing, the ship has not docked.
Later, the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on X that the “the ‘selfie yacht’ carrying Greta Thunberg and the other so-called ‘celebrities'” was continuing its journey toward an undisclosed Israeli port.
The ministry also shared footage of the activists wearing orange life jackets and being handed sandwiches and water by people who appear to be Israeli military personnel.
The blockade
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.
Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.
— With files from The Associated Press
Comments