Israeli forces seize Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, towing it to port

The Israeli military seized the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen on Monday, towing it to Israel, the Foreign Ministry said, adding the activists will be deported to their countries.

The British-flagged yacht Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, had departed from Sicily on June 1 and had hoped to reach Gaza later in the day, when the interception occurred, the group said on its Telegram account.

Among those on board the boat are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.

The ministry said in a statement on X that the vessel “is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries”.

It said earlier that “the maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorised vessels under a legal naval blockade, consistent with international law”.

“Humanitarian aid is delivered regularly and effectively via different channels and routes and is transferred through established distribution mechanisms,” it added.

The FFC said earlier on Monday that Israeli soldiers had kidnapped the activists who were on the Madleen.

Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel attempting to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, the FFC had said earlier in the day.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and 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.

“As the Madleen was reportedly intercepted and seized by Israeli forces in int’l waters, the UK gov must urgently seek full clarification and secure the immediate release of the vessel & its crew,” she said in a separate post.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla had also said that quadcopters surrounded the Madleen and were “spraying it with a white paint-like substance”, Al Jazeera reported.

Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, which is supporting the FFC, told Al Jazeera that some people on board reported that their “eyes were burning” after the white substance was dropped on the aid boat.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing the Israeli Navy communicating with the Madleen over a loudspeaker, urging it to change course, shortly before the FFC confirmed that Israeli forces had boarded the Gaza-bound aid ship.

“The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade,” a soldier said. “If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you are able to do so through the (Israeli) port of Ashdod.”

The organisers of the Madleen’s voyage said on Saturday that they had reached Egyptian waters and were nearing Gaza, where the Israeli invasion of Gaza entered its 21st month.

The Madleen, a sailing boat operated by the FFC, left Italy on June 1 with the stated aim of delivering humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.

“Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas — a murderous terrorist group holding our hostages and committing war crimes,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or support terror groups — by sea, air or land,” he added.

The coalition responded in a statement on X, saying it expected “interception and an attack from Israel at any moment” and calling for the governments of those on board to protect them.

The post added that the Madleen is 160 nautical miles from Gaza and that jamming “briefly disrupted our location, but our tracker is functioning again”.

Meanwhile, activists aboard the vessel have said they will continue their journey “until the last minute”.

“We’ll stay mobilised until the last minute — until Israel cuts the internet and networks,” European parliament member Rima Hassan told AFP from the boat. “There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid.”

Hassan voiced concern over the lack of official response from countries whose citizens are part of the crew.

“No state has responded. The message being sent is that Israel is being allowed to act with impunity, without any guarantee of protection for us,” she added.

In a post on X, Hassan said that the activists have “less than 24 hours” before they are detained by Israeli authorities.

“When we are no longer able to communicate with you, I’m counting on you to continue the mobilisation that has been so valuable to us throughout this journey,” she wrote.

Nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands are on the boat.

“We’re not scared of them,” said German human rights activist Yasemin Acar, also on board. “The message they have been sending us, that we cannot come closer, is not making us step back.”

On Sunday, French Minister for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin said that France was obliged to ensure “consular protection” for its nationals aboard the Madleen.

“The six French citizens on this boat are entitled to consular protection,” he told a state TV channel.

On May 27, Israel began implementing a controversial plan to distribute aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, bypassing UN oversight. Palestinians have denounced the move as a coercive tactic to force displacement from northern to southern Gaza.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the death toll from the American-Israeli aid distribution sites had risen to 125, with 736 wounded and nine missing since May 27.

According to the office, 13 people were killed and 153 injured on Sunday alone in two separate incidents near those locations.

On Sunday, the health ministry in Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza invasion had reached 54,880, the majority being civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable.

The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.