Israel vows to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.
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The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel Katz threatens to use ‘all necessary measures' to stop Gaza bound aid ship
The Israeli defence minister has threatened to 'take all necessary measures' to prevent a humanitarian ship carrying climate campaigner Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza. The 'Madleen', a boat operated by the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), says it is attempting to reach the shores of the territory to bring in a symbolic amount of aid and raise international awareness of the continuing humanitarian crisis. But on Sunday, Israel Katz ordered the Israeli military to stop the ship from getting anywhere near Gaza. 'I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act so that the hate flotilla … does not reach the shores of Gaza – and to take all necessary measures to that end,' the defence minister said in a statement. 'To the antisemitic Greta [Thunberg] and her friends who echo Hamas propaganda, I say clearly: You'd better turn back – because you will not reach Gaza. Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or to assist terrorist organisations – by sea, by air, and by land.' Thunberg, who has said she is taking part in the mission 'because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity', has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism. On board the vessel alongside her are the Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham and 10 other activists from Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands. They include Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament of Palestinian descent who has been barred from entering Israel. Responding to Katz on Sunday, they said: 'The statement by Israel's defence minister is yet another example of Israel threatening the unlawful use of force against civilians – and attempting to justify that violence with smears. 'We will not be intimidated,' it added. 'The world is watching.' As of Sunday evening, the Madleen, which left the port of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy, on 1 June, was approximately 160 nautical miles from Gaza. 'We are monitoring the situation closely,' the FFC said. 'We remain calm, resolute, and prepared for the possibility of an Israeli attack. We reiterate our call to world governments to demand that Israel stand down. Israel has no right to obstruct our effort to reach Gaza.' Israel's blockade on Gaza has been in place for years, even before the Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October 2023 after the Hamas attacks on Israel in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 people were taken hostage. It was slightly eased in mid-May after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory. But malnutrition is spreading, medics and aid workers have warned, with UN officials describing Gaza as 'the hungriest place on Earth'. Katz said on Sunday that the blockade was essential to Israel's national security as it seeks to destroy Hamas. 'The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,' he said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's assault, according to Gaza health authorities, with much of the territory reduced to rubble. Israel's plan to concentrate food delivery in hubs guarded by private security contractors and the Israeli military and provided by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has proved to be chaotic and dangerous, critics say. At least four people were killed and others wounded by Israeli fire on Sunday, about a kilometre from a food distribution point in Gaza, Palestinian medics and officials said. The deaths bring the number of people who have been killed while trying to find food in Gaza since 27 May, when GHF became responsible for civilian food provision, to 110. More than 1,000 have been injured. Israel said it was expecting to intercept the flotilla in the next 48 hours. Before leaving Sicily on board the Madleen, which is carrying a symbolic amount of rice and infant formula, Thunberg told reporters: 'We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying. Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And, no matter how dangerous this mission is, it's not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the livestreamed genocide.' Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organising protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, last month. It was bombed by drones and disabled while in international waters off Malta as it headed towards the Palestinian territory.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
IDF told to 'take whatever measures necessary' to stop Greta Thunberg aid boat from reaching Gaza
Israel's defence minister has threatened to "take whatever measures necessary" to stop an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza. The climate campaigner, 22, is one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily last Sunday on a mission aiming to break Israel 's sea blockade. The activists have said they plan to reach Gaza 's territorial waters as early as Sunday to deliver humanitarian aid. But in a post on X, Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel reaching the shore and to "take whatever measures necessary". Addressing Thunberg and the other activists, he said: "You should turn back - because you will not reach Gaza." He wrote: "I have instructed the IDF to act so that the 'Madeleine' hate flotilla does not reach the shores of Gaza - and to take any means necessary to that end. "To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back - because you will not reach Gaza. "Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations - at sea, in the air and on land." 2:38 Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, is also on the boat, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel's policies towards Palestinians. Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms. But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 Oct 2023. 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.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Trump is running out of time to crush Iran's nuclear ambitions
As President Trump works to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, the Islamic Republic is feverishly building up its offensive military capabilities. The most recent International Atomic Energy Agency report says Tehran has been producing enough 60 per cent enriched uranium to make one nuclear weapon every month and now has enough material to build ten bombs. It would take no more than two weeks to further enrich this to the 90 per cent required to achieve weapons-grade. It seems likely that the pace of enrichment has if anything increased since nuclear negotiations began. The IAEA board is due to meet today and may vote on a noncompliance resolution against Iran. Logically, this would lead to snapback UN sanctions under the 2015 Obama nuclear deal, unless Tehran starts to comply with IAEA inspections which it has failed to do up to now. Snapback wouldn't necessarily happen immediately and no doubt the European signatories would coordinate with the White House given Trump's live negotiations. The president gave the ayatollahs two months to reach a deal, threatening military action if not. That two months is up now and all proposals have apparently been rejected. Iran's nuclear programme threatens the world and especially the Middle East, with Sunni Arab countries viewed as sworn enemies in Tehran's maniacal eyes. But Israel is most immediately in Khamenei's cross-hairs with his repeated guarantees to annihilate it. It is the only country other than the US that is capable of damaging Iran's nuclear project, but is now on the horns of a dilemma. Israel can hardly attack while its number one ally is in negotiations on exactly this issue. And if Trump eventually agrees a deal which does not fully dismantle nuclear production facilities – which is a distinct possibility – it will be faced with a decision on whether to go ahead anyway against Trump's likely desire. Israel is also certain to face obstruction from European leaders who will cravenly do what they can to avoid conflict no matter the consequences. If Trump's negotiations grind to a halt and snapback sanctions are imposed, they will no doubt demand that these are given a chance to work and meanwhile Israel should refrain from attacking. Such vacillation can be more easily swept aside than hard objections from the US, from which Israel would anyway need support including with potentially large retaliation from Iran. On that subject, Tehran's ballistic missile stockpiles have been severely depleted by two major attacks against Israel last year, the IDF's strikes against Iranian ballistic missile production facilities and by export of missiles to Russia to attack Ukraine. But Iran is not sitting on its hands over that challenge any more than it is over uranium enrichment. Earlier this year it took delivery of shipments of ammonium perchlorate from China and has reportedly ordered thousands of tons more, expected to arrive in the coming months. This is an essential component for solid fuel ballistic missiles, including nuclear armed missiles. As well as direct use against Israel, Iran will also send missiles to Lebanon to rebuild Hizballah and to its other proxies in Iraq and Yemen to attack Israel and potentially US forces in the region. All this means the time for effective military action is now. Iran will do everything it can to spin out talks with the US, doing its best to lead the negotiators along while manipulating Europeans to throw a lifeline. As well as building up its offensive capabilities, it will be trying to replace its Russian-supplied air defences shattered by an IDF counterstrike last October. It will also be further hardening and dispersing its nuclear facilities. Trump needs to understand that, even if a deal is agreed, it won't be worth the paper its written on. Tehran has repeatedly breached the terms of Obama's deal as well as its obligations under the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. Whatever obfuscation it comes up with, Iran will not voluntarily surrender its nuclear weapons programme. All these negotiations will therefore achieve is to obstruct and delay the inevitable. It is imperative that the US now gives a green light to Netanyahu to do what he has to do, and provide him with whatever support he needs. The consequences of failure to act go beyond Iran's nuclear capabilities. Trump's moves will also be measured in Moscow and Beijing. Anything other than a hard line with Tehran will be taken as a sign of weakness. It will encourage Putin to continue to refuse to negotiate over Ukraine, believing the cost to be low. And it will show Xi that even the most bullish and unpredictable president the White House has seen for many years may not stand in the way of his own imperial ambitions. Ultimately, deterrence comes down to demonstrable political will. If a (not yet) nuclear armed state can't be prevented from endangering the world by the American superpower, then what hope is there for anyone deterring two nuclear states.
