Hamas Gaza chief ‘eliminated' by Israel, says Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in Gaza.
Speaking before parliament, Mr Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes.
Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader and one of the masterminds of the Oct 7 attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.
'We eliminated Mohammed Sinwar,' Netanyahu told a parliament plenary session. Israeli media had reported that Sinwar was targeted in Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Greta Thunberg Gaza flotilla – live: Aid ship reaches port after Israel vows to deport all activists on board
The Madleen boat has reached the Ashdod port in Israel after Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound vessel off the coast of Egypt. Israel has vowed to deport all 12 activists on board the Madleen, including climate activist Greta Thunberg. The UK-flagged boat, which was carrying a symbolic amount of aid and intended to break Israel's naval blockade around Gaza, in place since 2007, was intercepted in the early hours of Monday morning. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory. The Israeli foreign minstry said the passengers of the boat are currently undergoing medical examinations after arriving at Ashdod port. Defence minister Israel Katz has dismissed the activists as engaged in a publicity stunt and said the vessel would be transported to the port of Ashdod. Mr Katz said he had told the military to force the passengers to watch videos of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October upon arrival 'to see exactly who the terrorist organisation they came to support and for whom they work is'. Watch | Greta Thunberg 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' in international waters while carrying aid for Gaza Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 04:00 An 18-year blockade Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a 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 off Gaza from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine. Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 03:00 Why was the Madleen sailing to Gaza? The 12-person Madleen set sail for Gaza eight days ago from the port of Catania in Sicily. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), responsible for the boat, said the trip aimed 'to break Israel's more than 17-year illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip'. The ship's location was being monitored live by Forensic Architecture using a Garmin live tracker on board before that tracker was switched off when Israel intercepted the vessel. Speaking aboard the Madleen last week, Ms Thunberg told Middle East Eye: 'We have promised ourselves and we have promised the Palestinian people to do everything we can. 'When our governments are failing us … then it falls on us to step up and be the adults in the room. 'We are just human beings, very concerned about what's happening, and do not accept what is going on.' Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 02:00 ICYMI | Convoy sets off for Gaza from North Africa to protest Israel's blockade A convoy of buses and private cars have departed from Tunisia to Gaza as part of efforts to spotlight Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the territory. The overland effort — organized independently but moved up to coincide with the flotilla — is made up of activists, lawyers and medical professionals from North Africa. It plans to traverse Tunisia, Libya and Egypt before reaching Rafah, the border crossing with Egypt that has remained largely closed since Israel's military took control of the Gaza side in May 2024. The Tunisian civil society groups behind the convoy said their aim is to demand 'the immediate lifting of the unjust siege on the strip.' They said that Arab governments haven't pushed enough to end the 20-month war between Israel and Hamas. "This convoy speaks directly to our people in Gaza and says, 'You are not alone. We share your pain and suffering,'" Yahia Sarri, one of the convoy's Algerian organizers, wrote on social media. The North African activists do not expect their convoy to be allowed into Gaza. Regardless, it provides 'a message of challenge and will,' said Saher al-Masri, a Tunis-based Palestinian activist. Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 01:00 Watch | Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital 'where body of Hamas chief was found' Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital 'where body of Hamas chief was found' Israel has released footage of an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in Gaza where it claims it found the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of Hamas. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shared a clip of the bunker online, stating that it was further proof that Hamas 'hides behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals'. Footage shows the sprawling infrastructure which consists of a long corridor and several rooms where the IDF claims to have found Sinwar's body on Sunday (8 June). Israel said Sinwar was killed in a targeted air strike on 13 May, which the Hamas-run civil defence agency said killed 28 people and injured dozens. Hamas has not confirmed his death. Jabed Ahmed9 June 2025 23:59 Bulletin | Greta Thunberg forced to watch October 7 footage after Israeli forces seize aid boat Greta Thunberg forced to watch October 7 footage after Israeli forces seize aid boat Jabed Ahmed9 June 2025 22:59 How many times have sailors tried to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza? There have been at least eleven occasions when Israel has intercepted activists or pro-Palestinian militants attempting to break its blockade on Gaza, we can report. Israel's blockade on Gaza has been in place since late 2007. The most significant incident happened in May 2010, when a six-boat flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy around 90 miles from Gaza. Nine people were killed after Israeli commandos opened fire on activists, having boarded the flagship vessel, the Mavi Marmara, Israel claims the activists began attacking the soldiers first. Neither account has been confirmed. There were additional, major attempts by activists in July 2011, June 2015 and August 2018. The vessels were all boarded without incident by Israeli forces. Like the Madleen, several were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Several smaller efforts were also intercepted by Israel, largely in the two years between 2009 and 2011. In March 2011, the Israelis intercepted a freighter called the Victoria in the Mediterranean with 50 tonnes of concealed weapons allegedly bound for Gaza. Last month, two drones hit another vessel destined for Gaza while it was off the coast of Malta. It was run by the same organisation that manages the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The FFC claimed those drones were Israeli. Israel declined to comment. Jabed Ahmed9 June 2025 22:14 Watch | Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital 'body of Hamas military chief was found' Jabed Ahmed9 June 2025 21:44 An 18-year blockade Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a 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 off Gaza from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine. Jabed Ahmed9 June 2025 21:14 Trump: Thunberg needs anger management classses US president Donald Trump has said he thinks activist Greta Thunberg is a 'strange person'. Speaking to reporters in the White House, he said: "Well, she's a strange person. She's a young, angry person. I don't know if it's real anger. It's hard to believe, actually, but I saw what happened. She's certainly management. I think she has to go to anger management class. That's my primary recommendation for her.' Jabed Ahmed
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Israel preparing to deport Gaza aid boat activists, including Greta Thunberg
Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists whose Gaza-bound aid ship was intercepted by Israeli naval forces have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said on Tuesday. The activist group departed Italy on 1 June aboard the Madleen carrying a symbolic amount of food and supplies for Gaza, whose entire population the UN has warned is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod. 'The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,' the Israeli foreign ministry said on X. 'Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.' The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group operating the Madleen, said all 12 campaigners were 'being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities'. 'They may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight,' it said on social media. Video released earlier by the group showed the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured. The Madleen was intercepted about 185km west of the coast of Gaza, according to coordinates from the FFC. French president Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat 'be allowed to return to France as soon as possible', a presidential official said. Adalah, an Israeli NGO offering legal support for the country's Arab minority, said the activists on board the Madleen had requested its services, and that the group was likely to be taken to a detention centre before being deported. Turkey condemned the interception as a 'heinous attack' and Iran denounced it as 'a form of piracy' in international waters. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack. On Sunday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the naval blockade on Gaza, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. In what organisers called a 'symbolic act', hundreds of people launched a land convoy on Monday from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza. Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF, and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Greta Thunberg and 'freedom flotilla' activists are at airport and risk being deported, Israel says - after Greta Thunberg's lawyer demanded answers
The 'freedom flotilla' activists, including Greta Thunberg, have arrived at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport to be deported, Israel has confirmed. Taking to X at around 1:20am, the Israel Foreign Ministry said: 'Some of the 'Selfie Yacht' passengers are expected to leave within the next few hours'. 'Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation. Consuls from the passengers' home countries met them at the airport'. It comes after it was revealed that Greta Thunberg was being held in an Israeli prison for migrants after troops intercepted the 'freedom flotilla', according to the activist's lawyer. Thunberg, alongside the 11 other activists on board, was expected to appear in court later on this morning after they were taken to the Israeli port city of Ashdod. 'We demand information about the whereabouts of our clients and the right to meet them,' lawyer Nariman Shehade Zoabi told Expressen on Monday. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organised the voyage from Italy to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, said in the early hours of Monday that the ship had come 'under assault' in the Mediterranean Sea. The Madleen was said to have been shadowed by speedboats and drones before 'quadcopters' surrounded and sprayed the ship with an unidentified 'white irritant substance', shortly before the IDF seized it. Israeli commandos took over the vessel and arrested the activists, before taking them to Ashdod, in southern Israel. But on Monday, their lawyers claimed they had not received any information about their clients' whereabouts. 'Based on previous experiences, Greta Thunberg and the others will be taken to Givon prison near the town of Ramle. 'There, what are called illegal immigrants are detained and there is a court that can quickly decide on deportation,' Zoabi, from the human rights organisation, Adala, added. She is waiting in Ashdod alongside five others, three of whom are lawyers, and explained the deportation process could be quick. 'Israel has no interest in detaining them and they themselves do not want to stay in the country', she said. But until they are deported, the activists will be detained in Givon Prison. It comes after Sweden rejected Thunberg 's plea for help on board the vessel after Israeli troops stopped the ship. Maria Malmer Stenergard, the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that she believes Thunberg is not in need of support from the ministry after the climate activist called on followers to pressure the government into action. 'A great responsibility rests on those who choose to travel contrary to the advice given to a place,' she said outside the Swedish parliament, as protestors gathered in Stockholm to demand an intervention. The minister lamented that, as a result of Greta's plea, the consular hotline had received a high volume of calls that meant Swedes 'in need' abroad were being held in long queues for assistance. 'It is quite dangerous to run a campaign that means that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular hotline is called down,' she said, adding: 'The consequence is that Swedes in need abroad have to wait in line for far too long.' Stenergard suggested she did not believe Thunberg needed help, but assured: 'If she needs consular support, we will do everything we can, just as we do with all Swedish citizens.' Critics suggested it was a 'gap-year protest', and the Israeli government said Ms Thunberg had been 'feeding her ego' rather than the people of Gaza. The whole thing was always designed to be – and might yet be seen to be – a publicity coup for Ms Thunberg and the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) group of campaigners determined to draw attention to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza where children have been starving to death. Israel had claimed that all passengers on board the charity vessel are 'safe and unharmed'. Protestors hold signs reading 'Neutrality = complicity' (C) and Palestinian flags as they attend a demonstration to show their support for activists aboard a boat stopped by Israeli forces enroute to deliver aid to Gaza, in Toulouse, south-western France on June 9, 2025 Protestors have called on the governments of the 12 crew members to act after the activists claimed to have been 'intercepted and kidnapped' in international waters some 100 miles from the coast of Gaza. In London, demonstrators gathered outside the FCDO offices in Whitehall to call on the country to protect the crew of the British-flagged ship. One held a sign that read: ' Israel attacks UK boat. UK does nothing.' Images emerged last night, showing the deck of the charity vessel splattered with white liquid. Activist Yasmin Acar, among those on board, said it had been deployed by Israel and was affecting her eyes. 'Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,' the coalition wrote on Telegram. Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, told Al Jazeera that crew members had said their eyes were burning from the substance. 'We don't know what that chemical was. Some people reported that their eyes were burning,' they said. Israel 'forcibly intercepted' the vessel at 3.02am local time on Monday, the FFC said in a statement. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz argued the blockade - in place for years - was needed to prevent militants importing weapons into Gaza. He congratulated the military on its 'quick and safe takeover' of the ship. After diverting the boat, Israel's foreign ministry posted a picture of the activists all in orange life jackets being offered water and sandwiches. Katz said that the crew were safe and unharmed, and would be taken to the Israeli Port of Ashdod where they would be shown a video of Hamas 's October 7 atrocities. In comments shared on social media yesterday, Katz said it was 'appropriate' the crew now see 'what atrocities [Hamas] committed against women, the elderly and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself'. The video of Hamas' attacks reportedly contains 43 minutes of 'uncensored' footage of 'people being massacred and bodies mutilated during the onslaught', according to the Times of Israel. The Israeli foreign ministry also derided what it called the 'selfie yacht' carrying 'celebrity' activists, adding that the aid onboard would be transferred to Gaza through what it called 'real humanitarian channels'. The 12 activists had left Italy on June 1, aiming to bring awareness of food shortages in Gaza, which the UN has called the 'hungriest place on Earth', after 21 months of war. The UN has warned the territory's entire population is at risk of famine. But the Israeli government had vowed to prevent the 'unauthorised' Madleen from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back. After losing communication with the vessel, the FFC posted pre-recorded videos from the crew. In her video, Thunberg said: 'If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel.' Why are the activists protesting? The crew on board the Madleen sailed towards Gaza in an effort to raise awareness of the deepening humanitarian crisis. Israel imposed a blockade on supplies - including food and medicine - into the Palestinian enclave on March 2, and limited aid only began to enter again late last month after pressure from allies and warnings of famine. ActionAid had reported in April that the price of flour in Gaza had soared to $300 a bag after more than 50 days without new aid deliveries. More than 3,700 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in March alone, it said, an 80 per cent rise on the previous month, per UNOCHA. Still, most people in Gaza are surviving on just a single meal per day, consisting mostly of pasta, rice or canned food. Humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. Nine tenths of the population have been displaced by 21 months of war, with Israel now pursuing a new major offensive in the strip. 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. The FFC said that Israel had acted with 'total impunity'. It said that the cargo, containing baby formula, food and medical supplies, had been 'confiscated'. The Israelis denounced Ms Thunberg's cynical 'Instagram selfie' aid mission and said the 'tiny amount of aid' on board the 'celebrity' vessel would be transferred to Gaza through 'real humanitarian channels'. The foreign ministry stressed that all crew members were 'safe and unharmed'. It said that it expected the activists to return to their home countries. Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organiser, pushed back: 'Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen.' 'This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the (International Court of Justice's) binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.' Israel has come under criticism for apprehending the group of activists in international waters. Francesca Albanese, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said the British government must 'urgently seek full clarification' about the ship's status and work to 'secure the immediate release' of the vessel and crew. 'The Madleen must be allowed to continue its lawful humanitarian mission to Gaza,' she said. MailOnline approached the Foreign Office for comment. Protestors amassed outside the FCDO offices in London on Monday. One held a sign that read: 'Israel attacks UK boat. UK does nothing.' Ellie Chowns, Green Party Foreign Affairs spokeswoman and MP for North Herefordshire, said: 'The UK Government cannot remain silent while international waters are turned into a battleground and humanitarian actors are criminalised. 'The forced interception of the Madleen, a British-flagged vessel, is utterly unacceptable. Unarmed civilian crew were seized by Israeli military forces while sailing in international waters, their life-saving cargo taken, and international law trampled. 'I echo the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's demands: the immediate release of these civilians, unfettered delivery of vital baby formula, food and medical supplies to Gaza, and full accountability for these flagrant violations.' The Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, organised by the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, anchored off Catania, Italy, on June 1 Critics have branded the interception 'state piracy' and condemned the lack of action from the crew members' respective governments. Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Qatar-based Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, told Al Jazeera: 'This is not only an act of state piracy. It's in direct violation of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.' Spain summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in protest of the interception, according to El Pais, citing a source at the Spanish Foreign Ministry. French Foreign Minister Jeal-Noel Barrot said France wants to 'facilitate the rapid return' of six French nationals travelling with the group. Turkey slammed Israel for the interception, describing it as a 'heinous attack'. 'The intervention by Israeli forces on the 'Madleen' ship.. while sailing in international waters is a clear violation of international law,' it said, describing it as a 'heinous attack' by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Turkey's foreign ministry said there were Turkish nationals among those on board, without identifying them. The Freedom Flotilla's website said the boat was carrying 12 people from seven countries, including Turkey. 'The international community's justified reaction to Israel's genocidal policies, which use hunger as a weapon in Gaza and prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid, will continue,' the ministry added, saying Israel would manage to 'silence the voices defending human values'. Eight-year-old Rahab Matar, who was injured during an Israeli airstrike while playing in a park in Gaza, stays at a temporary shelter set up at the Yarmouk Stadium, Gaza City, June 7 Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. It recently allowed humanitarian deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution centre.
