‘Turn back': Israel orders military to stop boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Tel Aviv: Israel's government has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Defence Minister Israel Katz told the Israeli military on Sunday to stop the Madleen, which left Sicily a week ago with 12 activists on board.
'To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists — I will say this clearly: You should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza,' Katz said in a statement.
The group, called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, intends to break Israel's sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war. The plan was to reach Gaza's territorial waters as early as today.
But Katz said that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.
Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media on Sunday afternoon (Monday AEST) saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices about 160 nautical miles from Gaza.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
After an 11-week blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month and set up a new distribution system using a controversial new aid group, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
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