Greta Thunberg was one of 12 detained in Israel after attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. This is what happened next

Sydney Morning Herald

20 hours ago

There were rumours on social media that Irish actor Liam Cunningham, best known for playing Davos Seaworth on HBO's Game of Thrones, was also aboard Madleen, however, those were false. Cunningham did help launch the vessel at the port in Catania, but did not board the Madleen as a passenger.
Irish mixed martial artist McGregor is now feuding with Cunningham, whom McGregor called a 'virtue signalling bottler' for not travelling to Gaza on Madleen in a since-deleted post to X. Cunningham responded to McGregor on X, writing: 'Didn't know you could read and write, Conor. Thought you used your hands to tap out.'
Was Greta Thunberg kidnapped as she claimed?
Each passenger – excluding Faiad, who was broadcasting live to Al Jazeera – pre-recorded a video message to be released should Madleen be intercepted by Israeli forces.
In Thunberg's video message, shared to Freedom Flotilla Coalition's social media pages after Israeli forces boarded the privately owned vessel and towed it to Israel with its detained passengers, she said: 'If you see this video, it means we have been kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces'.
Passengers reported at around 3am local time on Monday morning (around 10am Monday AEST) that Israeli drones were encircling the ship, eventually spraying it with a white substance. The nature of the white substance remains unclear, though it was described as paint-like.
Shortly after, when Madleen was roughly 100 nautical miles (approximately 185 kilometres) away from Gaza in international waters, Israeli forces stopped and boarded the ship. Soldiers ordered Madleen's 12 passengers to throw their phones overboard, before filming themselves giving Thunberg and her fellow passengers sandwiches and water bottles. That footage was later shared to X by Israel's Foreign Ministry, which wrote: 'All the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.'
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the immediate return of the six French nationals detained by Israel to France, his office said, with lawmakers from leftist party France Unbowed calling Madleen's interception by Israel a 'clear violation of international law'.
According to Israeli media, in response to the incident, Israel's charge d'affaires Dan Poraz was summoned by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, with Brazil's Foreign Ministry requesting the release of Madleen's detained crew.
Turkey, meanwhile, called the Israeli seizure of Madleen 'a clear violation of international law' in a statement shared to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
'This heinous act by the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government, which threatens the freedom of navigation and maritime security, once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state,' the statement said.
There was no immediate response from the German or Dutch governments, though protesters gathered in Berlin and The Hague to demand the release of Madleen's crew.
What aid was onboard the Madleen?
Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a June 1 press release that Madleen was carrying a token amount of 'baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women's sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children's prosthetics' for people in Gaza.
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In May, after an 11-week blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel began to allow some basic aid into Gaza, and set up a new distribution system using a controversial new United States-backed aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Desperate after 20 months of war, thousands of Palestinians are being directed to new aid hubs to collect food, but the past two weeks have seen frequent shootings occur near the new aid distribution hubs.
Witnesses and Palestinian health officials said at least 12 people were killed by Israeli fire and others wounded on Sunday in Gaza as they headed towards two aid hubs. In response, Israel's military said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces.
After Madleen's seizure, Israel's Foreign Ministry claimed in a statement 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 1200 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.'
It further claimed: 'There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies. 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.'
Humanitarian workers have warned of famine in Gaza unless Israel lifts the blockade and ends its military offensive.
What did Israel say?
Ahead of Madleen's seizure by Israeli forces, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz warned in a post on X: 'I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' [sic] hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza – and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end.'
'To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza,' Katz's statement continued. 'Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations – at sea, in the air, and on land.'
Katz also said Israel's 18-year-long blockade is enforced to 'prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas' and is essential to Israel's security as it aims to destroy Hamas, which took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. He also said he had ordered Thunberg to be shown videos from October 7, 2023, while in detention.
What happens next?
At around 10pm on Monday (5am Tuesday AEST), roughly 18 hours after Madleen's interception, Israel's Foreign Ministry said the ship had docked at Ashdod Port, around 40 kilometres south of Tel Aviv.
'The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health,' the ministry wrote on X.
Five hours later, at 10.21am Tuesday AEST, the ministry said Madleen's passengers had arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, expected to leave for their home countries imminently.
'Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorise their deportation,' the ministry said in a statement to X. 'Consuls from the passengers' home countries met them at the airport.'
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement on X that Madleen crew members who do not agree to leave immediately are expected to be moved to the Ramleh detention facility.