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TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2025
Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

Middle East

Reuters
09 June, 2025, 02:25 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2025, 03:49 pm

Related News

  • Greta Thunberg, other activists on Gaza aid boat will be deported, Israel says
  • Turkey slams Israel for intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
  • Freedom Flotilla releases videos of captured activists after aid boat seized by Israel
  • Israeli forces stormed aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg bound for Gaza: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
  • Israel says to block Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there

Reuters
09 June, 2025, 02:25 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2025, 03:49 pm
A surveillance footage shows crew of the Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht "Madleen", put their hands up as strong light came into the vessel, in this screengrab from a video released on June 9, 2025. Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Handout via REUTERS
A surveillance footage shows crew of the Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht "Madleen", put their hands up as strong light came into the vessel, in this screengrab from a video released on June 9, 2025. Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Handout via REUTERS

Highlights: 

  • Vessel aimed to deliver aid, raise awareness of Gaza crisis
  • Crew includes climate activist Greta Thunberg
  • Israel says all aboard are safe, heading to an Israeli port
  • UN rapporteur urges more boats to challenge Gaza blockade

Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.

The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.

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However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control.

"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."

Israeli forces stormed aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg bound for Gaza: Freedom Flotilla Coalition

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

CREW ARRESTED

"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 carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.

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.

Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.

Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists.

Turkey slams Israel for intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat

Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.

The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.

"Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza," she wrote on X.

Top News / World+Biz

Israel invasion of Gaza / Gaza aid / Greta Thunberg

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