Gaza-bound boat with Greta Thunberg on board arrives in Israel after its seizure
A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists arrived at an Israeli port Monday after Israeli forces stopped and detained them — enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that had been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war.The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in Ashdod in the evening, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry. It published a photo on social media of Thunberg after disembarking.advertisementThe 12 activists were undergoing medical checks to ensure they are in good health, the ministry said. They were expected to be held at a detention facility in Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing them.
The activists had set out to protest Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which is amongst the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Both have put the territory of around 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid."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.advertisementIt said the ship was seized in international waters about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Gaza, and Adalah asserted that Israel had "no legal authority" to take it over.Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying on social media that "the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel."It said the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing life vests.ISRAEL SAYS BOAT WAS CARRYING MINIMAL AIDIsraeli officials said the flotilla carried what amounted to less than a truckload of aid."This wasn't humanitarian aid. It's Instagram activism," Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said. "Meanwhile, Israel has delivered over 1,200 truckloads in the last two weeks. So who's really feeding Gaza and who's really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself."After its two and 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. About 600 trucks of aid entered daily during the ceasefire that Israel ended in March.advertisementAn attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after two drones attacked the vessel in international waters off Malta, organisers said. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the ship's front section.RIGHTS GROUP QUESTIONS ISRAEL'S SEIZUREThe Madleen set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by Libya'a 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 prerecorded message released after the ship was halted.Adalah, the rights group, said in a statement that "the arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law."Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was amongst those on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.advertisementShe was amongst six French citizens on board. French President Emmanuel Macron called for consular protection and the repatriation of the French citizens."Most of all, France calls for a ceasefire as quickly as possible and the lifting of the humanitarian blockade. This is a scandal, unacceptable, that is playing out in Gaza. What's been happening since early March is a disgrace, a disgrace," Macron saidNext week, Macron co-hosts a conference at the UN on a two-state solution and recently said France should move toward recognising a Palestinian state.Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the crew and passengers were aware of the risks, Swedish news agency TT reported. Stenergard said the ministry's assessment was that no one was in danger and there was no need for consular support.AN 18-YEAR BLOCKADE ON GAZAIsrael and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a 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 off Gaza 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 US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.advertisementHamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half believed to be dead.Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said that women and children make up most of the dead.The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the population, leaving people 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. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated, or disarmed and exiled.Must Watch
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First Post
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- First Post
Greta Thunberg among Gaza-bound activists facing deportation after yacht intercepted in Israel
Thunberg and other prominent activists were taken for medical examinations on Monday evening and were also shown a 'horror film documenting the October 7 massacre' carried out by Hamas, Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz said read more Twelve activists, including Greta Thunberg, aboard a yacht which was on its way to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, arrived at an airport for deportation on Tuesday, after the boat was seized in the Israeli port of Ashdod. 'The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,' the Israeli foreign ministry said on social media. 'Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority,' it added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Thunberg and other prominent activists were taken for medical examinations on Monday evening and were also shown a 'horror film documenting the October 7 massacre' carried out by Hamas, Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz said. Refresh for updates
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
A surprising power shift inside Hamas
THE NARROW tunnel still reeked of decomposing bodies. A section was blocked by rubble created by two Israeli air strikes on May 13th. The tunnel was only opened by Israeli troops when they reached the spot, at the entrance to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, nearly four weeks later. Five bodies were found in a small underground room beneath the emergency ward of the main hospital in Gaza's second-largest city. On June 8th one was identified as that of Muhammad Sinwar, the military chief of Hamas. The confirmation of Mr Sinwar's death changes little in and of itself. Hamas has already appointed a replacement and it has weathered the killings of many of its bosses. But it could shift the balance within the movement's leadership, formerly dominated by Gazans, just as Israel once again increases pressure on the coastal strip. The Israel Defence Force (IDF) opened the tunnel to journalists earlier that same day. It was the first time members of international news organisations had been allowed into Gaza for five months. This limited and controlled media visit (no foreign journalists have been allowed into Gaza independently since the start of the war in October 2023) had two purposes. The first was propaganda. The IDF was anxious to show that it had left the hospital building intact (though all patients and staff had been evicted), despite Hamas using it to cover its hideaway. This was rather undermined by devastation in and around Khan Younis, a city formerly of over 200,000 residents who have been forced to evacuate to a miserable 'humanitarian zone' near the Mediterranean coast. The second was psychological warfare. Israel hopes to prove to the surviving Hamas leaders, and to the civilian population they still control in Gaza, that they are running out of places to hide. One military official suggested the confirmation of Sinwar's death could be 'a pivotal moment' which could lead to Hamas accepting Israel's terms for a ceasefire. That ceasefire, brokered by America and Qatar along with Egypt, has been on the table in various forms for months. It would start with a 60-day truce during which about half of the remaining Israeli hostages would be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. During this period, Israeli forces would pull back from parts of Gaza and allow more aid in while talks would be held towards a long-term ceasefire. This last point remains the main obstacle to a deal. Hamas continues to demand guarantees for a permanent peace that Israel has refused to give. But in recent days, Hamas has indicated it is open to discussing new terms. The entry into the strip of limited quantities of aid through distribution networks over which it has little control may worry the group. The relentless destruction of Gaza by Israel's army, which threatens even more devastation, may too. And the death of Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the orchestrator of the October 7th attacks, may have influenced them, in part because it has changed the dynamics of Hamas's leadership. The new de-facto Hamas leader in Gaza is Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the commander in northern Gaza. He is the last of the veteran Hamas chiefs in Gaza. He was tasked with concealing and securing many of the Israeli hostages seized on October 7th and is still believed to control their fate. His new role, however—co-ordinating with the leaders of Hamas outside Gaza—is his first brush with the broader politics of the movement. 'Al-Haddad will have to decide now if he wants to be remembered as the man on whose watch Gaza was finally destroyed,' says an Israeli intelligence analyst. 'He may prefer to be the last man standing after a ceasefire.' Under the Sinwar brothers, the Gazan branch of Hamas, where the group originated, dominated. With them dead, the leaders outside the strip—in Doha, Beirut and Istanbul—have the upper hand once again. The movement has not replaced Yahya Sinwar as overall leader. Instead it is run by four men: Khaled Mashal, a former head of Hamas and long-time advocate of closer ties with moderate Sunni regimes instead of Iran; Zaher Jabarin, who represents Hamas's West Bank branch and is in charge of the movement's finances; Muhammad Darwish, a Lebanese-born Palestinian who has suggested that he might countenance Hamas relinquishing power in Gaza were it to be replaced by something like a national unity government; and Khalil al-Hayaa. A former deputy of Yahya Sinwar, Mr Hayya is the sole Gazan in the quartet and even he is now in Qatar. He is anxious to secure assurances that Hamas will be able to remain on the ground in Gaza after any ceasefire but looks increasingly isolated. The other three are expected to support a deal relinquishing Hamas's post-war role in Gaza but preserving its standing in the Arab world. This could make it easier to reach a ceasefire. So might political changes. The far-right parties in Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition who harbour ambitions of perpetual occupation and resettling Gaza have threatened to bring down the government if he ends the war. But other senior government officials have said recently they believe the conditions now exist for a long-term ceasefire. Increasing pressure from Donald Trump and Israel's other Western allies partly explains the shift. So too does a growing expectation that Hamas will accept conditions formally ending its rule of Gaza, including disarmament and the exile of some of its surviving leaders and fighters. Add to that the weakening leverage of Mr Netanyahu's far-right allies as the prospect of elections grows. The polls are currently scheduled for October 2026. But tensions within the coalition over demands by the ultra-Orthodox parties for an unpopular law exempting students of religious seminaries from military service could lead to a vote much sooner. Mr Netanyahu is wary of an election which he is likely, according to most current polls, to lose. But if he cannot prevent one, many in Jerusalem believe he would prefer to hold it after securing a ceasefire which led to the release of the remaining hostages which he could frame as a victory. A deal would also ease American pressure; Mr Netanyahu has no desire to go to the polls when he seems to be out of favour in Washington. Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's envoy to the Middle East, is expected to return to the region in the coming days. He may arrive with a little more hope. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital where body of Sinwar's brother was found
Muhammad Sinwar (left) KHAN YOUNIS: The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas member, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. 'We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar,' he said. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's deceased leader and mastermind of the Oct 2023 attack on Israel. Shabana played a key role in constructing the network of tunnels under Rafah. During the search of the site, Israeli forces also recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. Credit: Reuters
