Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there. However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control. "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." Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. CREW ARRESTED "The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.," Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would 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. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war . Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists. Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza 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.
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Observer
4 hours ago
- Observer
Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel. The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there. However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control. "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." Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. CREW ARRESTED "The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.," Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would 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. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war . Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists. Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West. The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations. The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza 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.
Times of Oman
12 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar's body located
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Times of Oman
13 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Israel stops aid ship attempting to reach Gaza
Israel's Foreign Ministry has said that the Madleen, a ship carrying humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip, has been intercepted and is "safely making its way to the shores of Israel." The passengers, who include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, among others, are expected to return to their home countries, the ministry said on X. "While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid — more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks," the ministry said. "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," the statement added. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the organization that launched the Madleen, has accused Israeli authorities of "kidnapping" the people on board. In a series of posts on Telegram, the group also said the ship had come "under assault in international waters" and that Israeli forces had sprayed the vessel with a "white irritant substance" before "illegally" boarding the ship. Madleen surrounded by quadcopters, Freedom Flotilla Coalition says The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, responsible for the Madleen boat carrying aid for Gaza, said it was "under assault in international waters" as it approached the besieged Palestinian enclave in the early hours of Monday. "Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white irritant substance," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on its Telegram channel. "Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio." The group then said the Israeli army had "boarded the vessel." Israel's Foreign Ministry said the Israeli Navy was communicating with the aid ship, calling it the "selfie yacht." "Using an international civilian communication system, the Israeli Navy has instructed the "selfie yacht" to change its course due to its approach toward a restricted area," the ministry said on X. Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirms Israel intercepted Gaza aid ship The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has confirmed that the Madleen, a ship carrying humanitarian aid that was bound for Gaza, has been intercepted by Israeli forces. In a statement, the group said its vessel was "attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military … in international waters." "The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated," the FFC said. Israel has "no legal authority to detain" the volunteers aboard the Madleen, human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer, Huwaida Arraf, said. Arraf added that the seizure is a violation of international law and goes against the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) "binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza." The statement said Israel does not have the legal right to detain the volunteers, who are "not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade." "Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately,' Arraf said.
