Israel says to block Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday ordered the military to stop a humanitarian ship carrying activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, breaking the blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
"I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement from his office.
The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Italy on June 1 with the aim of delivering aid and challenging the Israeli blockade, which has been in place for years even before the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023.
Organisers said on Saturday the vessel had entered Egyptian waters and was nearing Gaza, where the war has entered its 21st month.
Aboard the boat are nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Türkiye, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands.
One of them, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, has said that more than 200 European lawmakers signed an open letter to Israel calling for the Madleen to be allowed to reach Gaza and for the "immediate entry of its humanitarian cargo".
Katz said that "Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas."
In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack.
In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday.
"Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am," said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency.
The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution centre west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, witnesses and Bassal said, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.
The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.
"Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire," Abdullah Nour al Din said.
The GHF said in a statement there had been no incidents or injuries "at any of our three sites" on Sunday.
It said it had distributed more than a million meals, including more than 600,000 through a trial of "direct to community distribution" via "community leaders".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
5 hours ago
- Observer
Israel says to block Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday ordered the military to stop a humanitarian ship carrying activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, breaking the blockade of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. "I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement from his office. The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Italy on June 1 with the aim of delivering aid and challenging the Israeli blockade, which has been in place for years even before the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023. Organisers said on Saturday the vessel had entered Egyptian waters and was nearing Gaza, where the war has entered its 21st month. Aboard the boat are nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Türkiye, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands. One of them, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, has said that more than 200 European lawmakers signed an open letter to Israel calling for the Madleen to be allowed to reach Gaza and for the "immediate entry of its humanitarian cargo". Katz said that "Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas." In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack. In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday. "Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am," said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency. The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution centre west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, witnesses and Bassal said, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies. The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. "Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire," Abdullah Nour al Din said. The GHF said in a statement there had been no incidents or injuries "at any of our three sites" on Sunday. It said it had distributed more than a million meals, including more than 600,000 through a trial of "direct to community distribution" via "community leaders".
Observer
8 hours ago
- Observer
World leaders head to France for UN summit on ocean threats
NICE: World leaders descend on the French Riviera on Sunday ahead of a high-level summit to tackle a deepening crisis in the oceans driven by overfishing, climate change and pollution. The United Nations says oceans face an "emergency" and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them. The UN Ocean Conference must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions. Some 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei. Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers. A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threatens their very survival. The United States under President Donald Trump — whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage — is not expected to send a delegation. Conservationists have warned the summit — which will not produce a legally binding agreement — risks being a talk fest unless leaders come armed with concrete proposals for restoring marine health. Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target. "We've created this sort of myth that governments don't have money for ocean conservation," Brian O'Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, told reporters. "There is money. There is not political will," he said. So far, only around eight per cent of oceans are designated marine conservation zones and even less are considered truly protected. Greenpeace says at this rate, it could take another 82 years to reach the 30 percent goal. There has also been a concerted push for nations, including France, to ban bottom trawling — a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately scrapes the ocean floor. On Saturday, Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper that bottom trawling would be restricted in some national marine protected areas. Inching closer toward the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on high seas protection, will also be a summit priority. France is spearheading a separate push in Nice to build support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a closely-watched meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July. — AFP
Observer
8 hours ago
- Observer
Thousands march in Rome to protest 'complicity' on Gaza war
ROME: Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Rome to protest the war in Gaza, in a rally called by opposition parties denouncing the government's alleged "complicity" in the conflict. "Stop the massacre, stop complicity!" read a wide banner held by protesters at the start of the march, amid a sea of red, white and green Palestinian flags, peace flags and "Free Palestine" signs. The peaceful protest attracted a massive crowd estimated by organisers at 300,000 people. Police later said those estimates were "largely confirmed", according to Italian news agency AGI. It made its way from Rome's central Piazza Vittorio to San Giovanni, where speakers took to a stage to urge an end to the violence and denounce what some called the silence of the far-right Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called the turnout "an enormous popular response" in opposition to the war. Italy's Five Star Movement and the Greens-Left Alliance were also behind the protest. The demonstration was "to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians, to say enough to the crimes of Netanyahu's far-right government" and to show the world "another Italy", Schlein told journalists. "An Italy that does not keep silent as the Meloni government does, an Italy that instead wants peace, wants an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and wants recognition of the state of Palestine," she said. Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte told the crowd he was there "to not be a partner to genocide" and rejected any accusation of antisemitism on the part of protesters. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. In Italy, Meloni has been pushed by the opposition to condemn the actions of Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, but her criticism has been tempered. Last month, Meloni called the humanitarian situation "increasingly dramatic and unjustifiable" and said she had had "often difficult conversations" with Netanyahu, while at the same time noting that "it was not Israel that started the hostilities". People carry relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in Gaza. — AFP Many protesters came from across Italy to participate in the demonstration, including Gabriella Branca, a lawyer from Genoa. "It's unbearable to witness the massacre of 60,000 people, including 20,000 children. We have to say enough," the 67-year-old said. "In other countries, as you know, demonstrations have drawn millions of people, so I hope that today in Rome we can send a signal to all of Italy, so that everyone takes to the streets to say enough and above all, to try to find peace," she said. Meanwhile in Gaza, civil defence agency said Israeli attacks on Sunday killed at least 10 people including two girls in the Palestinian territory, as the Israel-Hamas war entered its 21st month. "Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution centre west of Rafah, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies. The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Asked to comment on the latest killings, the Israeli military said it fired on people who "continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers" despite warnings. It said the area around the distribution point had been declared an "active combat zone" at night. "Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire," Abdullah Nour al Din said. Outside the Nasser hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body-bags. Dozens of people have been killed near distribution points since late May, according to the civil defence. Bassal said another five people, including two young girls, were killed around at 1:00 am in a strike that hit a tent in the Al Mawasi in southern Gaza. — AFP
