The Israeli army seized Gaza Madleen’s help ship on Monday, towing Israel, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, added that activists will be deported to their countries.
The yacht with British Madleen flag, operated by the Pro-Palestinian FFC, had separated from Sicily on June 6 and hoped to get to Gaza later in the day, when the interception occurred, the group said in his telegram account.
Among the on -board of the boat are the Swedish climatic activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, French member of the European Parliament. The yacht carries a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including the rice and baby formula.
The Ministry said in a statement about X that the ship “is safely arriving at the coast of Israel. Passengers are expected to return to their countries of origin.”
He said that “the maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorized vessels under a legal naval block, according to international law.”
“Humanitarian aid is delivered regularly and effectively through different channels and routes and is transferred through established distribution mechanisms,” he added.
Previously, the Israeli forces approached the charity ship that tried to reach the Gaza Strip in challenge to an Israeli naval block, the Freedom Flotilla (FFC) coalition had said earlier on Monday.
The Israeli army had no immediate comments.
Shortly before the FFC statement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a video about X that shows the Israeli Navy to communicate with the Mamleen on a speaker, urging to change course.
“The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval block,” said a soldier. “If you want to provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you can do it through the Ashdod port (Israeli).”
Madleen’s organizers said Saturday that they had reached the Egyptian waters and were approaching Gaza, where the conflict between Israel and Hamas entered their month 21.
The Madleen, a candle ship operated by the Freedom Flotilla coalition, left Italy on June 1 with the declared objective of providing humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade in the Palestinian territory.
“Israel will not allow anyone to break Gaza’s naval block, which aims to prevent weapons from arriving in Hamas, a murderous terrorist group that supports our hostages and commits war crimes,” said Minister of Defense Israelis, Israel Katz.
“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or support terrorist groups: by sea, air or earth,” he added.
The coalition responded in a statement about X, saying that he expected “interception and an attack by Israel at any time” and asking 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 interrupted our location, but our tracker works again.”
Meanwhile, ships on board the ship have said they will continue their trip “until the last minute.”
“We will remain mobilized until the last minute, until Israel short internet and the networks,” said the member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan AFP From the boat. “There are twelve of American civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid.”
Hassan expressed concern about the lack of official response from countries whose citizens are part of the crew.
“No state has responded. The message that is sent is that Israel is allowed to act with impunity, without any guarantee of protection for us,” he added.
In an X publication, Hassan said activists have “less than 24 hours” before being arrested by Israeli authorities.
“When we can no longer communicate with you, I have you to continue the mobilization that has been so valuable for us during this trip,” he wrote.
The nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands are on the boat.
“We are not afraid of them,” said the German activist of human rights Yasemin Care, also on board. “The message they have been sending to us, that we cannot approach, is not making us go back.”
On Sunday, the French French and National Minister of French abroad, Laurent Saint-Martin, said France was obliged to guarantee “consular protection” for its nationals aboard the Madleen.
“The six French citizens on this ship have the right to consular protection,” he told a state television channel.
The conflict was caused by Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to a AFP Tally of official figures.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the general toll for the Gaza War had reached 54,880, being the civil majority. The ONS considers these reliable figures.
