Israel's defense minister vows to prevent aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg reaching Gaza
JERUSALEM — Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday 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.
In a post on X Katz announced that he has instructed the Israeli Defense Force "to act to prevent the Madleen hate flotilla" from reaching the strip's coast: "You should turn back -- because you will not reach Gaza."
Thunberg is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza's territorial waters as early as Sunday.
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.
Also on board is "Game of Thrones" star Liam Cunningham.
After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
Israel denied the allegations. — Euronews
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel diverts Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat on Monday morning, preventing the activists onboard, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Madleen departed from Italy on June 1 aiming to bring awareness to food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations 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. AFP lost contact with the Madleen early Monday morning. At around 3:02 am CET (0102 GMT), Israeli forces 'forcibly intercepted' the vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement. 'If you see this video we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,' Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video shared by the coalition. The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the diversion, saying in a statement the boat was being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The Israeli government had vowed to prevent the 'unauthorized' ship from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place since years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. After diverting the boat, Israel's foreign ministry posted a picture of the activists all in orange life jackets being offered water and sandwiches. 'All the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed,' the ministry wrote on social media, adding that it expected the activists to return to their home countries. '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 added. 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 (GHF). But humanitarian agencies have criticized 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 defense agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution center. 'Risked their lives' for food Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal and witnesses said the civilians had been heading to a site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Witness Abdallah Nour al-Din told AFP that 'people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah' in the early morning. 'After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved toward the site and the army opened fire,' he said. The Israeli military said it fired on people who 'continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers' despite warnings. The GHF said in a statement there had been no incidents 'at any of our three sites' on Sunday. Outside Nasser Hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body bags. 'I can't see you like this,' said Lin al-Daghma by her father's body. She spoke of the struggle to access food aid after the two-months Israeli blockade, despite the recent easing. At a charity kitchen in Gaza City, displaced Palestinian Umm Ghassan told AFP she had been unable to collect aid from a GHF site 'because there were so many people, and there was a lot of shooting. I was afraid to go in, but there were people who risked their lives for their children and families.' Sinwar Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said it had located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, presumed Hamas leader in Gaza, in an 'underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis,' in southern Gaza. The military, which until Sunday had not confirmed his death, said Israeli forces killed Sinwar on May 13. Sinwar was the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, accused by Israel of masterminding the 2023 attack that triggered the war. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,880 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable. After the deaths of several Hamas leaders, Mohammed Sinwar was thought to be at the heart of decisions on indirect negotiations with Israel. The military said that alongside Sinwar's body, forces had found 'additional intelligence' at the Khan Younis site 'underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room.' Experts said he likely took over as the head of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, after its leader Mohammed Deif was killed by Israel. The Palestinian group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Body of Mohammed Sinwar Identified
Israeli authorities said on Sunday they identified the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed al-Sinwar that was earlier retrieved from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Al-Sinwar is the chief commander of Hamas's military wing and the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar. 'The body of al-Sinwar, is now in Israeli custody,' the Israeli army confirmed Sunday following a completed identification process, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. Authorities gave no further details about the other bodies found in the interconnected tunnel complex. Earlier, the Israeli Radio channel said the bodies of 10 other Palestinian Hamas members and leaders were recovered from the tunnel. The bodies were recovered during a special military operation. 'The Israeli military released footage showing the underground infrastructure beneath the hospital, including a command-and-control center reportedly used by senior Hamas commanders to direct combat operations,' Yedioth Ahronoth said. It added that the operation began last Wednesday evening. Prior to the raid, the hospital had been evacuated. Later, the government media office in Gaza denied the Israeli military claims that the tunnel was found beneath the European Hospital. The office said the video released by the Israeli army shows a narrow metal pipe that cannot fit a person, has no stairs or equipment and is located in an area used for rainwater drainage. It also said the Israeli forces dug the site themselves and staged the footage near the hospital's emergency department, which remains crowded with patients. On May 21, two Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Sinwar was killed alongside other Hamas figures in an Israeli airstrike on an underground tunnel near the European Hospital east of Khan Younis. One source said the bodies were moved from one tunnel to another for temporary burial. 'They were buried underground due to security concerns,' the source added. 'Hamas informed the families that the remains were not brought above ground and are expected to remain buried in the tunnels until the security situation allows for proper funerals,' the sources said. A second source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qassam Brigades special units entered the collapsed tunnel after the bombing and recovered several bodies. The source said the method used to retrieve the bodies mirrored that of previous operations, including the recovery of senior Hamas officials Rawhi Mushtaha and Sameh al-Siraj, whose deaths were also confirmed posthumously.
Saudi Gazette
6 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel says Hamas Gaza chief Sinwar's body identified
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has said it has located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza. His body was discovered in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday. It said it had verified the body's identity through DNA checks — though Hamas has not publicly confirmed his death. Sinwar, 49, was killed in an air strike on 13 May, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 28 people and injured dozens. Sinwar's body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, the IDF said. It added that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation". The IDF said other bodies were found, which it was looking to identify. It took a small group of foreign journalists into Gaza to Khan Younis to show them the tunnel on Sunday. It also published video of the small entrance to the tunnel, accessible through freshly dug earth just in front of the European Hospital. The footage shows a long, narrow underground corridor that leads to several rooms. Inside some of them, piles of clothes and plastic chairs are visible, with a rifle leaning up against the wall. One video also shows a shrouded body being pulled from the tunnel by a rope. IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that in one of the rooms they found the Sinwar's body. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centers, which the group denies. The IDF has mounted sieges and attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, leaving the territory's health system on the verge of total collapse. Such attacks have caused widespread international concern, as many hospitals and medical facilities have been put out of action — and the lives of patients and staff put at risk. In a statement after an Israeli strike on al-Ahli hospital in April, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep alarm and declared that, under international humanitarian law, the "wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected". Hospital staff in Gaza have also repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities as a base. The IDF will point to this latest footage as vindication of its claims and its military strategy. As with so much in Gaza, however, full independent verification is not possible. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023 , in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The renewed fighting in Gaza comes following the collapse of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal a few months ago. Since then, Israel has restated its aim to destroy Hamas and recover the hostages, of whom 54 remain in captivity and 23 are thought to still be alive. Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after its founding in the late 1980s and became a member of the group's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He rose through the ranks and by 2005 he was commander of the Khan Younis Brigade. Sinwar was also reported to have been close to another of Hamas's previous military chiefs, Mohammed Deif, and had been involved in the planning of the 7 October attack. His brother and predecessor, Yahya Sinwar — believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 7 October attack — was killed by Israeli troops last October. — BBC
