Israeli forces stop aid ship carrying activists from reaching Gaza
Activists say Israeli troops have boarded a yacht trying to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among those aboard the vessel
Israel's foreign ministry said earlier that the country's navy had told the yacht to change course
It later said the yacht was "safely making its way to the shores of Israel"
Citizens of Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are onboard
Israeli forces stop aid ship carrying activists from reaching Gaza
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Israel Detains Greta Thunberg, Other Activists After Halting Gaza-Bound Aid Ship
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an hour ago
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Greta Thunberg 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' in international waters while carrying aid for Gaza
Greta Thunberg 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' in international waters while carrying aid for GazaFreedom Flotilla Coalition
News24
an hour ago
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Israel blocks ‘selfie yacht' with Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza with aid
Israel intercepted an aid boat bound for Gaza. Activists including Greta Thunberg will likely be sent back to their home countries. At least 10 people were killed near an aid distribution centre on Sunday. Israel said it diverted a Gaza-bound boat on Monday after the activists onboard, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, said they were intercepted as they sought to provide relief to the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Madleen departed from Italy on 1 June to bring awareness to food shortages in Gaza, which the UN has referred to as the 'hungriest place on Earth', with the entire population at risk of famine. The Israeli government had directed its forces to stop the 'celebrities yacht' from reaching Gaza. AFP lost contact with the activists onboard the Madleen early on Monday morning after the organisers said alarms sounded and life jackets were being prepared. 'If you see this video we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,' Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video shared by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group operating the vessel. READ | Gaza aid group delays site opening after 'deeply disturbing' killing of 27 Palestinians In a statement, the coalition said the Israeli military intercepted the Madleen around 03:02 CET (01:02 GMT) just off the coast of Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry said it had redirected the boat toward Israeli shores and expected those onboard to return to their home countries. All the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. Israel's foreign ministry on X '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,' the ministry added. Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after a more than two-month total blockade led to widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. It has recently started working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to distribute aid via a handful of centres in south and central Gaza. But humanitarian agencies have criticised 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 defence agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution centre. Civil defence spokesperson 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. 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Eyad Baba/AFP 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.' 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 Yunis', in southern Gaza. The military, which until Sunday had not confirmed his death, said Israeli forces killed Sinwar on 13 May. Hassan Jedi/Anadolu via Getty Images 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 Yunis site 'underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room'. Experts said he likely took over as the head of Hamas' 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.
