Gaza aid boat to press on 'until last minute' as Israel orders military to block the vessel: activists
CAIRO: A humanitarian boat bound for Gaza, with 12 activists on board -- including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg -- will continue its journey "until the last minute", campaigners said on Sunday, after Israel ordered its military to block the vessel.
"We'll stay mobilised until the last minute -- until Israel cuts the internet and networks," European parliament member Rima Hassan told AFP from the boat -- named Madleen.
The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies to "break Israel's blockade on Gaza".
"There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid," Hassan said.
Earlier in the day, Israel's defence minister Israel Katz ordered the military to block the boat from reaching the Palestinian territory.
"I say clearly: turn back because you will not reach Gaza," Katz said in a statement from his office.
The coalition responded in a statement on X saying it expected "interception and an attack from Israel at any moment" and calling for the governments of those on board to protect them.
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