Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

Israeli naval forces intercepted and captured a charity ship that attempted to breach a naval blockade of the conflict-ridden Gaza Strip on Monday, and the vessel, along with its 12-member crew, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now en route to a port in Israel.

The British-registered yacht, Madleen, run by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, intended to send a symbolic aid delivery to Gaza on Monday and highlight the humanitarian crisis to the world. The boat was seized overnight before it could make land, the FFC reported on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry subsequently verified that it was under Israeli authority.

“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on X.

All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added. “They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”

Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.

“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.,” Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.

The yacht is transporting a minor load of humanitarian supplies, such as rice and infant formula. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it would be sent to Gaza. “The small quantity of assistance that remained on the yacht and wasn’t used by the ‘celebrities’ will be sent to Gaza via genuine humanitarian routes,” it stated.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed the military on Sunday to stop the Madleen from arriving in Gaza, labeling the operation a propaganda initiative backing Hamas. Katz mentioned he had directed that when the boat reaches Ashdod port, the activists would be shown videos of the atrocities carried out during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, which ignited the Gaza war.

Hamas described the capture of the vessel as “state terrorism” and expressed admiration for its activists. Israel implemented a naval blockade on the coastal territory following Hamas’s seizure of Gaza in 2007 to prevent arms from arriving to the militant group, recognized as a terrorist organization by Israel and Western nations.

The blockade has persisted despite various conflicts, including the ongoing war, which started when Hamas-led militants surged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in over 1,200 fatalities and the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli counts.

Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas has resulted in over 54,000 Palestinian deaths, as reported by health officials in Gaza controlled by Hamas, and has rendered its population of over 2 million mostly displaced and facing famine risks, according to the United Nations.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, has backed the FFC operation and called on additional boats to confront the Gaza blockade on Sunday.