Source : the age
By Yesica Fisch, Marissa Newman, Wafaa Sharafa and Kareem Chehayeb
Israeli forces have boarded the Gaza-bound aid boat Madleen and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists on board, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
Footage posted by activist group the Freedom Flotilla Coalition showed a chaotic scene as the crew, wearing orange life jackets, sat with their hands up while someone shouted, “Ditch the phones. Phones in the water, please”. Searchlights shone from outside, and a loudspeaker could be heard.
In a post on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’” was “safely making its way to the shores of Israel” and that those onboard were “expected to return to their home countries”.
It said the humanitarian aid aboard the boat, which was reportedly off the coast of Egypt, would be transferred to Gaza through established channels. The ministry later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists.
In an Instagram update, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its “peaceful volunteers were rammed and intercepted before Israeli forces boarded the vessel. We lost all contact with them seconds later”.
“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food and medical supplies – confiscated,” it said in a further statement.
Greta Thunberg with part of the crew of the ship Madleen, shortly before the departure for Gaza.Credit: Getty Images
In a pre-recorded video message, Thunberg said she and the crew had been “intercepted and kidnapped in international waters”.
“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” she said in the video.
‘You should turn back’
On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the boat to be stopped and that no one would be allowed to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists, I will say this clearly: ‘You should turn back because you will not make it to Gaza’,” Katz said in a statement.
The British-flagged vessel left Sicily a week ago with 12 people on board, including Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who is of Palestinian descent.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its aim was to break the blockade and deliver a token amount of aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war.
After an 11-week blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel began to allow some basic aid into Gaza last month and set up a new distribution system using a controversial new aid group, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
On Sunday, the Israeli Army said it had recovered the body of Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander who was killed in a May 13 airstrike at a Gaza hospital.
Sinwar’s remains were found in a tunnel beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to the Israeli military.
Additional bodies were found at the site and were being examined, the military said.
Hamas has yet to acknowledge the death of Sinwar, the brother and successor of deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attacks that triggered the devastating war in Gaza. Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar in October 2024.
An image released by the Israeli military shows the entrance to tunnels running underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.Credit: Getty Images
Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said at least 12 people were killed and others wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza on Sunday as they headed towards two aid distribution points.
Israel’s military said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces.
The past two weeks have seen frequent shootings near the new aid hubs where thousands of Palestinians, desperate after 20 months of war, are being directed to collect food.
In all, at least 108 bodies were brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said. Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of militant targets over the past day.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of the territory’s population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
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