Activists say Israeli forces have stopped and boarded a yacht trying to take aid to Gaza, going against Israel’s sea blockade.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group behind the mission, said they lost contact with the ship Madleen. They also posted a photo showing people in life jackets sitting with their hands raised, possibly showing they were being held.
Later, Israel’s foreign ministry said the yacht was being taken safely to Israel and that the people on board would be sent back to their home countries.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is said to be one of the people on board. The yacht was near Egypt’s coast before being stopped. Israel says the blockade is needed to stop weapons from reaching Hamas fighters in Gaza.
After the yacht was stopped, the FFC shared short, pre-recorded videos from activists like Greta. In the videos, they said that if the videos were being seen, they had likely been stopped and “kidnapped” by the Israeli military.
The group said the yacht left from Sicily, Italy, on Friday. It carried a small amount of aid and was ready for possible action by Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had earlier warned that if the Madleen tried to reach Gaza, the Israeli army would take action. He called the mission a “hate flotilla” and said the military would do whatever was needed to stop it.
Israel has had a sea blockade on Gaza since 2007. They say it’s necessary to stop weapons from being smuggled to Hamas and to protect Israel’s safety.
But the Freedom Flotilla Coalition says the blockade is against international law. They also said Israel was using threats and false claims to try and justify stopping a peaceful mission.
“We will not be scared off. The world is watching,” said FFC spokesperson Hay Sha Wiya.
“The Madleen is a peaceful ship. It’s sailing in international waters with aid and human rights workers. Israel has no right to block it,” the group added.
The aid on the yacht includes small but meaningful items like rice and baby formula. People from countries like Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey are onboard.
This situation reminds many of a 2010 incident when Israeli forces boarded another aid ship, Mavi Marmara, and killed 10 people.
Recently, Israel began letting limited aid into Gaza again after blocking it for months. Much of the aid is now sent through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group supported by Israel and the U.S., though many aid organizations criticize it.
Last week, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, said that Palestinians are in a terrible situation — they either starve or risk their lives to get what little aid is available.
Israel’s foreign ministry responded to the yacht’s mission by calling it a “media show” meant to get attention. They pointed out that the Madleen carried less than a truckload of aid, while over 1,200 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the past two weeks. They also said 11 million meals had been given to people in Gaza.
“There are proper ways to send aid to Gaza,” the ministry said, “and they don’t involve social media stunts.”
The interception comes nearly 20 months into the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Since then, the war has devastated Gaza. According to the territory’s health ministry, run by Hamas, over 54,880 people have died. Most of Gaza’s infrastructure is in ruins, and hunger and displacement affect millions of people.
