The Israeli military stopped the yacht «Madleen», on board of which Greta Thunberg along with 11 other activists was heading to the shores of the Gaza Strip.
The yacht Madleen under the British flag, operated by the pro-Palestinian coalition «Freedom Flotilla» (FFC), intended to deliver symbolic aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday and draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis, writes Reuters.
Among the 12 crew members are Swedish climate campaign activist Thunberg and French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan. The Israeli Foreign Ministry reported that «all passengers are safe and sound, they were given water and sandwiches, the show is over».
«The celebrity selfie yacht is safely heading towards the shores of Israel. It is expected that the passengers will return to their home countries, — says the official statement of the ministry. — While Greta and others tried to stage a media provocation, whose sole purpose was to attract public attention and which included less than one truck of humanitarian aid, over the past two weeks more than 1200 trucks with humanitarian aid have arrived in Gaza from Israel, in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund has distributed about 11 million food portions directly to civilians in Gaza. There are ways to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that do not involve Instagram selfies». At the same time, the ministry promised to transfer a «small amount of humanitarian aid» from the activists' vessel to Gaza through humanitarian channels.
On social networks, the «Freedom Flotilla» stated that the volunteers on board were kidnapped by the Israeli military and called for pressure on the Israeli Foreign Ministry to ensure their safety.
Meanwhile, The Times of Israel writes that the Israeli Navy warned the crew about approaching the «prohibited zone» off the coast of Gaza, announcing via loudspeaker that the naval blockade is a legal measure. The military offered an alternative option for delivering humanitarian aid through the Israeli port of Ashdod.
In early June, Swedish left-wing activist Greta Thunberg, along with pro-Palestinian activists, departed from the port of Sicily on the vessel Madleen, announcing that she would sail to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Thunberg has previously spoken out in support of Palestine and against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military not to allow «Madleen» into Gaza, calling this mission a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The blockade has persisted through many conflicts, including the current war, which began after a terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, resulting in over 1200 deaths.