Israel seized Gaza-bound aid flotilla and detained all prominent activists and human rights defenders on board Madleen ship, Israeli officials and Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirmed.
The flotilla carried small amount of aid as a gesture of support for Palestinians who, according to the United Nations, face starvation due to Israel’s blockade of the territory for more than 2.5 months.
On board the Madleen ship were 12 activists including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, French jurist Rima Hassan, who is a member of the European Parliament, Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham.
Madleen started its voyage from Sicily on June 1 for Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. Israeli officials argue that the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons smuggling into the enclave.
Monday morning, after impounding the small ship, Israeli Foreign Ministry said, “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.”
“While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid — more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza. There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies. 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.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) while confirming that its civilian ship, Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been “attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military” at 3:02 am CET in international waters at 31.95236° N, 32.38880° E, said:
“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.”
“Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen,” said Huwaida Arraf, human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer.
“This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza,” Arraf said.
Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, and other issued pre-recorded video messages about their condition and called for efforts to secure their release.
Flotilla Coalition released the names of the activists and human rights defenders on board the ship in the following order:
Yasemin Acar – Germany
Baptiste Andre – France
Thiago Avila – Brazil
Omar Faiad – France
Rima Hassan – France
Pascal Maurieras- France
Yanis Mhamdi – France
Şuayb Ordu – Turkey
Greta Thunberg – Sweden
Sergio Toribio – Spain
Marco Van Rennes – The Netherlands
Reva Viard – France
UN Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, who was on board the boat, called for safety of all activisits.
The latest war in Gaza started on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant organization Hamas attacked southern parts of Israel.
According to Israeli officials, the terrorist attack by Hamas, which has been designated by the United States as terrorist organization, killed 1200 people. Besides, Hamas took around 250 people as hostages to Gaza.
According to Health Ministry in Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas, Israeli military attacks have killed more than 54000 Palestinians including a large number of women and children.
