On Monday morning, Israeli forces intercepted and detained 12 activists — including climate activist Greta Thunberg — aboard British-flagged aid vessel Madleen in international waters, diverting it towards Ashdod after it attempted to break through Gaza’s naval blockade.
The Freedom Flota Coalition vessel left Catania, Sicily on June 1 with humanitarian aid including baby formula, medical supplies, prosthetic limbs, flour and diapers for Gaza’s beleaguered population. For more information see elpais.com +15, Wikipedia (en), The Times Co Uk +15
Navy commandos boarded a ship about 160 km away from Gaza early Monday, following drone deployment and electronic jamming, according to activists’ reports on independent.co.uk +3, aljazeera.com +3 and theguardian.com (+3).
Passengers on board were detained, including Swedish activist Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan, but are reported as unharmed. The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed their safe arrival in Ashdod where food and water distribution was offered and assured their return home countries, such as US/European. Cbsnews.com +6 thetimes.co.uk+6 and theguardian.com.
Thunberg appeared awkward as she smiled awkwardly, prompting media reports of soldiers offering her food while the “show is over” slogans were read aloud by an army officer. In one picture reported by media, soldiers offered Thunberg sandwiches while also proclaiming the show to be over, reports The Independent +15 as reported on by The Times + 15 as well as Wikipedia + 15.
The Ministry drew parallels between the mission and Hamas propaganda and their “selfie yacht” operation, dismissing it as “selfish.” [Independent.co.uk, Times and Guardian].
activists onboard accused Israeli forces of forcibly boarding their vessel, jamming communications, deploying drones, and spraying white chemical agents that caused eye irritation (sources: En.Wikipedia.Org and The Independent respectively). For further reading: A Times article has more on this story (A Times piece about an eye irritation incident is forthcoming as well as The Independent article here and The Times article here)
Videos posted to Telegram and social media showed the crew, with hands raised high under bright floodlights, in videos posted by Aljazeera and The Guardian (The Guardian is linked below) + The Times (+ The Times is linked here as well).
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the interception in order to prevent breach of Israel’s blockade under national security grounds and ensure crew were shown footage from Hamas’ October 7 attack, the Times.co.uk writes. Additionally, The Independent reports this as one way of doing just that
Israel maintains its decade-long blockade of Gaza to prevent arms smuggling, according to apnews.com.
International criticism was swift. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned what she termed an unlawful boarding, calling for further flotas. Likewise, Council on American-Islamic Relations called its interception an act of international piracy; similar condemnations was voiced from France and Spain (according to The Guardian.com).
Meanwhile, aid groups onshore accused Israel of mismanaging humanitarian operations in Gaza, with reports emerging of violent clashes at distribution centres where at least 12 civilians were reported killed and further injuries.
The flotilla’s organizers pledged to carry on with their solidarity mission despite reports of signal jamming, with their live tracking site going offline due to alleged signal interference (The Times/Independent/CBSNews.com, to be exact).
This symbolic attempt follows earlier May’s Conscience flota which was hit by drones off Malta and thus highlighted international tension surrounding Gaza aid efforts, according to The Times (UK) +6 and Wikipedia (+6)
As tensions escalate, questions continue to linger over Gaza’s humanitarian access, Israel’s implementation of its blockade and the legal status of such maritime operations in international waters.