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Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg, ministry says

Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg, ministry says

CBC2 days ago

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Israeli forces have taken command of a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, and the boat with its crew of 12 including activist Greta Thunberg is now heading to a port in Israel, officials said on Sunday.
The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), 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.
"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.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally.
Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's military campaign. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's more than two million residents are facing famine.
The Israeli government says the blockade is essential to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.
The UN's 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.

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Israel appears to believe its war goals are getting closer, as Gaza teeters on starvation
Israel appears to believe its war goals are getting closer, as Gaza teeters on starvation

CBC

time3 hours ago

  • CBC

Israel appears to believe its war goals are getting closer, as Gaza teeters on starvation

Social Sharing Despite enormous criticism from abroad, Israel appears to believe its war strategy in Gaza is slowly working thanks in part to the efforts of the mysterious new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Now two weeks into its operations, the GHF has taken over delivering humanitarian supplies to the besieged enclave, but increasingly at a terrible cost. More than 110 people have been killed at, or near, aid distribution sites in Gaza. Some, it appears, were shot by Israeli soldiers; others by unknown gunmen. Still others were killed in the chaos that predictably accompanies starving people rushing to get limited supplies. A new analysis by the Crisis Group, an NGO that studies global conflicts, concludes that Israel's military has turned Gaza into a giant "experiment in starvation" and is creating conditions for the forced displacement of its population by keeping people fed just enough to stay alive, but hungry enough to rebel against Hamas. 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Another man, 25-year-old Mohamed Abdo, says he needed to get food for 10 family members but managed only a few bags of beans, lentils and salt. Riham Jafari, with the women-focused group Action Aid, called the GHF's limited efforts a "media trick." "Israel and the U.S. want to tell the world that they are delivering food for people… but the people are dying," she said from her base in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. On a quick visit to London last Friday, Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand didn't reply directly to a question about the GHF and its work, but appeared to acknowledge the food situation in Gaza remains inadequate. "More humanitarian assistance, especially food, must enter Gaza and Canada will continue to work with our allies to ensure that there is dignity and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," she said. Israel's government and the GHF both strenuously refute any accusation of that they are intentionally limiting food to the territory. 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Various UN and private agencies that had previously been co-ordinating aid distribution in Gaza expressed a strong willingness to resume their work, but Israel's government refused. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that Hamas was stealing or diverting vast quantities of food aid, a claim that international agencies say is overstated. And yet the Crisis Group report says that, less than a month ago, the UN presented a "comprehensive" plan that addressed Israel's security concerns, with QR-coded cargo; sealed, GPS-tracked trucks; UN monitors at every crossing, and other precautions. Nearly 9,000 truckloads of aid were "sitting ready" in Egypt and Jordan, it says. Israel did not respond to the proposal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Netanyahu's office did not respond to further questions, which the Government Press Office said it had forwarded. Who precisely is providing money to pay for those GHF meals is also unclear. 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The militant group — which attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people — has demanded Israel end its war in Gaza and withdraw its forces from the territory. Netanyahu says Israel's war aims remain unchanged: defeating Hamas, bringing back the remaining 25 or so living hostages from Gaza, and ensuring that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future. Still, even if Israel's military feels its war goals are getting closer, it's unclear how long the GHF's operations will be sustainable. The Crisis Group report underscores that while, technically, Gaza's population is probably not in a state of famine, most people there remain severely undernourished. The report notes that Israel's own military has set the threshold for avoiding malnutrition at 2,200 calories per person per day — while the GHF has promised to provide only 1,750. In such a state, Blecher, the report's author, says the population of Gaza cannot survive indefinitely. 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Arizona governor vetoes bill to ban teaching antisemitism in Arizona's public schools
Arizona governor vetoes bill to ban teaching antisemitism in Arizona's public schools

Winnipeg Free Press

time10 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Arizona governor vetoes bill to ban teaching antisemitism in Arizona's public schools

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U.S. condemns Canada, allies over move to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers
U.S. condemns Canada, allies over move to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers

CTV News

time13 hours ago

  • CTV News

U.S. condemns Canada, allies over move to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers

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