Israel vows to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- Israel's government on Sunday vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Israel 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.
"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," he said in a statement.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner, 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 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war.
The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza's territorial waters as early as Sunday.
Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media Sunday afternoon 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 a two-and-a-half-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 is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
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 and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.
Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It doesn't say whether those killed are civilians or combatants.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump's New Travel Ban Takes Effect As Tensions Escalate over Immigration Enforcement
AP Travelers cart their luggage through the international arrivals area at the Los Angeles International Airport, Saturday. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president's escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect. During Trump's first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries created chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy. No such disruption was immediately discernible at Los Angeles International Airport in the hours after the new ban took effect. Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport earlier Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the U.S. are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest. 'I have family in Haiti, so it's pretty upsetting to see and hear,' Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. 'I don't think it's a good thing. I think it's very upsetting.' Many immigration experts say the new ban is more carefully crafted and appears designed to beat court challenges that hampered the first by focusing on the visa application process. Trump said this time that some countries had 'deficient' screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the U.S. after their visas expired. Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump's proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries. Trump also tied the new ban to a terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. U.S. officials say the man charged in the attack overstayed a tourist visa. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees. 'This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,' said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organization. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long war there. Afghanistan had been one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
Israel stops aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza
Israel says its forces have prevented a boat carrying Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg from reaching the Gaza Strip. The vessel operated by a human rights organization was aiming to deliver food, medicine and other aid supplies to the enclave. In a post on X, Israel's Foreign Ministry said the boat "is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries." The waters off Gaza have been under siege by Israeli forces. Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed them to prevent the boat from reaching the territory. Reuters news agency quoted the human rights organization as saying in a social media post that "the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore." Fighting continued across Gaza on Sunday. Palestinian media reported that 13 people were killed in Israeli attacks near US-backed aid distribution centers.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israel blocks Greta Thunberg's ship from reaching Gaza, group says
Israel has intercepted a humanitarian aid ship trying to reach the Gaza Strip that was carrying activists including Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg, the group operating the vessel said. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a news release that the vessel was forcibly intercepted in international waters, its crew "abducted,' and the cargo — which included food, baby formula and medical supplies — was confiscated. This came as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that no vessel would be permitted to breach the naval blockade that's primarily intended to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas. "I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to act to prevent the 'Madleen' hate flotilla from reaching Gaza,' Katz said in a post on social media platform X. "To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back — because you will not reach Gaza.' The civilian ship set sail from Sicily on June 1, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. It was intercepted about 200 kilometers from Gaza, according to coordinates provided by the organization, which describes itself as a grassroots solidarity movement. "Israel is once again acting with total impunity,' the group said in the statement. Agence France-Presse reported Israel as saying the vessel had been redirected and the activists were to return home. The Associated Press said the vessel had been diverted to Israel. The group has previously attempted to breach the blockade, most recently a month ago, when it claimed the ship was disabled by a drone strike. Israel has been at war with Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, when the militant group launched a surprise attack that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken. More than 50 of those captives remain in Gaza, and Israel believes about 20 are alive. Hamas, which the U.S. and the European Union have designated a terrorist organization, claims that more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, without differentiating between civilians and combatants. Israel has lost more than 400 troops to Gaza combat. Some of Israel's closest European allies, including Germany, the U.K. and France, have grown increasingly critical of the country's conduct of the war, which has destroyed much of the coastal strip and sparked what international aid agencies say is a hunger crisis. They're considering trade sanctions and curbs on arms sales to pressure Israel into ending the war. Israel halted the entry of aid trucks into Gaza at the beginning of March, when a six-week truce ended and Hamas rejected a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages. Israeli authorities claim that Hamas hijacks aid shipments to fund salaries and recruit militants. Nevertheless, under mounting international pressure, they've permitted limited deliveries of aid. At the same time, the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations at the end of May to distribute aid to the population without Hamas involvement. Despite difficulties on the ground, the Swiss-based nonprofit said on Sunday it had reopened three distribution sites and initiated a pilot program delivering supplies directly to community leaders. The group has distributed enough staples to prepare more than 10 million meals, it said.
