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Israeli forces board Gaza-bound aid boat containing Greta Thunberg, Freedom Flotilla Coalition says

Israeli forces board Gaza-bound aid boat containing Greta Thunberg, Freedom Flotilla Coalition says

Israeli forces have boarded a charity vessel attempting to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said early on Monday.
The British-flagged yacht Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian FFC, had departed from Sicily on June 6 and had hoped to reach Gaza later in the day, when the interception occurred, the group said on its Telegram account.
Among those on board the boat are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Shortly before the FFC statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing the Israeli Navy communicating with the Madleen over a loudspeaker, urging it to change course.
'The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade,' a soldier said. 'If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you are able to do so through the (Israeli) port of Ashdod.'
The yacht, with its 12-person crew, was carrying a symbolic shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
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 over 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.

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Israel says Greta Thunberg is being deported after Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized

JERUSALEM (AP) — Activist Greta Thunberg is being deported from Israel, Israel's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying that she was headed for France. Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza. The activists said they were protesting the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel says such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza.

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