Israeli forces halt aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and detain activists
Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early on Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
The activists had set out to protest against Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some two million Palestinians at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory.
'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies —confiscated,' it said in a statement.
Israel's Foreign Ministry cast the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that 'the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel'.
It said the passengers would return to their home countries and the aid would be delivered to Gaza through established channels.
It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard.
'I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,' Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was halted.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. 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 and experts 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. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's Palestinian population.
Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, but later relented under US 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 October 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 does not 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.
Efforts to broker another truce have been deadlocked for months.
Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and exiled.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
32 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after seizing Gaza-bound ship
Ms Thunberg left on a flight to France before heading to her home country of Sweden, the foreign ministry posted on X. It added a photo of Thunberg, a climate activist who shuns air travel, seated on a plane. Ms Thunberg arrived from Israel at Charles de Gaulle airport (AP) Speaking upon arrival at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Ms Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a 'quite chaotic and uncertain' situation during the detention. The activist added the conditions they faced 'are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now'. Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France). — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 10, 2025 'We were well aware of the risks of this mission,' Ms Thunberg added. 'The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.' She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was on board the Madleen boat (AP) Ms Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza that was meant to protest against Israel's ongoing war there and shed light on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey. Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early on Monday about 125 miles off of Gaza's coast, according to the coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel's actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza. The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening, according to the foreign ministry. Ms Thunberg sailed for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (AP) The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Ms Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. It said it had encouraged some of the group to do this so they could speak freely about their experiences. Eight other passengers refused deportation and were being held in detention before their case is to be heard by Israeli authorities. Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said the eight were expected to be brought before a court later on Tuesday. 'Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law,' the coalition said in a statement. It called for the remaining passengers to be released without deportation and said their lawyers would demand that they be allowed to complete their journey to Gaza. Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel's interior ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and will be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said.
BreakingNews.ie
39 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Greta Thunberg says she was kidnapped by Israeli forces in international waters
Greta Thunberg on Tuesday accused Israel of kidnapping her and her fellow pro-Palestinian activists in international waters, saying she declined to sign a document stating she entered the country illegally prior to being deported. Speaking in the arrivals section of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after being deported from Israel, the Swedish activist said she and her team had broken no laws, and called for the immediate release of the activists still in Israel. Advertisement "I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into Israel," she said. She laughed off criticism from US president Donald Trump, who had described her as an angry person, saying: "I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest, especially with everything going on right now." World Greta Thunberg deported from Israel after Gaza-bou... Read More Thunberg (22) arrived in Paris a day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through a years-old naval blockade of the coastal enclave, and seized the 12-strong crew, including Thunberg. Thunberg denied her mission to deliver aid to Gaza by breaking through a years-old naval blockade of the coastal enclave was a PR stunt, saying a previous effort in a larger boat was ended after the vessel was bombed. She said she was now in desperate need of a shower and sleep. She admitted it was unclear where she would be heading next, telling reporters it could be Sweden.
Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Telegraph
There are no ‘journalists' in Gaza. Just Hamas propaganda operatives
Britain and the world's views of the rights and wrongs of the Gaza war are so often shaped by what the BBC reports. That's mattered more than ever in recent weeks, amid the feverishly heated coverage of Israel's new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) scheme to deliver aid to the Palestinian people and bypass allegedly Hamas-controlled NGOs. Hamas-linked sources claim Israeli soldiers have repeatedly shot and killed Palestinian civilians waiting for GHF food with their families. Stories bearing the bylines of BBC 'journalists' in Gaza largely tell this version of events, albeit including the denials of the IDF. News organisations using Gazan reporters say they have no choice, given the IDF's refusal to allow in outside journalists. But that's no reason not to exercise care and employ the same editorial standards as they would on any other story. For critics of the BBC, the results have been a disaster for the Corporation and its standards. They point to the stories that have not been told, or have been largely overlooked, by these reporters almost throughout the war: of Hamas's tyranny over the people of Gaza, its torture and murder of opponents, and of the courageous Palestinians who defy its rule. And why is there such scant coverage of Hamas using the civilian population as a human shield by placing tunnels under civilian buildings and military bases in hospital? Where are the stories of Israeli hostages being moved across Gaza? Why is there no footage of Hamas firing rockets or their gunmen on the move? There is an obvious answer: it appears that these reporters are either pro-Hamas, or too afraid of reprisals from terrorist gunmen to tell the truth. It is a charge that BBC Global News Director Jonathan Munro entirely rejects. Almost spluttering in disbelief recently at the suggestion that 'some of the people you're using in Gaza might be under pressure, might be restricted in what Hamas allows them to see,' resulting in a 'partial view', he insisted: 'There's no restriction on what they can see, what they can show and what they can film when they're on location. 'There's no suggestion at all that any of those very brave people are under any political influence.' Munro's denial shows an astonishing disregard for the well-documented reality of life in Gaza. Take a recent report from the well regarded NGO the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It tears apart the notion that press freedom exists in Gaza. According to the CPJ, journalists there have been subject to 'detentions, assaults, obstruction and raids' going back to the start of Hamas rule almost twenty years ago. While detailing numerous violent assaults on members of the press in Gaza, the analysis warns that violations by Hamas are 'underreported'. Some journalists who have been assaulted are believed to be too afraid to say anything at all; others have gone to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) but say they do not want to go public for fear of retaliation. Note that both the CPJ and PJS are the staunchest critics of Israel. There can be no doubting the credibility and accuracy of their accounts on this matter. The picture they paint is light years removed from Munro's suggestion of unencumbered press freedom in Gaza. Some of the journalists in Gaza used by the BBC have been exposed as having deeply hateful views of Israel and Jews, making them entirely unsuitable as journalists. Yet there is a problem that goes far beyond any individual, if Munro and other executives cannot understand the reality of reporting from Gaza. TV producer Leo Pearlman has proposed the solution: 'The BBC make a huge deal of adding to every news script from Gaza by saying that Israel doesn't allow independent access for journalists. 'What it never says – and maybe should start doing – is that no journalist can operate freely in Gaza under Hamas control.'
