Gaza, 9 June (H.S.): Israeli commandos intercepted the British-flagged humanitarian ship Madleen, carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg and other activists, en route to Gaza. Rima Hassan, an MEP on the yacht operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), shared an image of passengers in life jackets with their hands raised. Hassan reported via X that the Israeli army arrested the crew in international waters around 2 am. The FFC indicated that they had lost contact with Madleen and claimed the passengers had been kidnapped.
The ship, which departed from Sicily, sought to deliver aid and challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, in place since before the Israel-Hamas conflict, and was reportedly prepared for an attack. The Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to the yacht as a selfie yacht of the celebrities, asserting it was safely headed to Israeli shores. The Ministry accused the activists of staging a media stunt for publicity, noting that over 1,200 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the preceding weeks, while the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation supplied nearly 11 million meals. It emphasized that aid could be delivered through proper channels without media distractions, stating that any undelivered aid from the yacht would be redirected appropriately to Gaza.
The FCC reported that the ship Madleen was carrying a symbolic amount of aid, including rice and baby formula. This followed threats from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza, asserting that the blockade, in place since 2007, aimed to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. Israeli Embassy Spokesperson Guy Nir dismissed the aid as a publicity stunt, claiming it was less than 100 pounds and a small fraction of the aid successfully delivered daily to Gaza. He noted that any unauthorized vessel entering territorial waters would be stopped, emphasizing that no special privileges exist for vessels with celebrities.
In contrast, the FCC labeled Israel’s sea blockade as illegal and accused it of threatening civilians and justifying violence against them. They asserted that the Madleen is a civilian vessel carrying humanitarian aid, urging that Israel has no right to obstruct their mission. This marked the second attempt by FCC to reach Gaza, following an aborted mission in May when their vessel Conscience was reportedly attacked by a drone while in international waters near Malta, an attack that Israel neither confirmed nor denied.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
