Israeli forces have taken command of a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12 including activist Greta Thunberg is now heading to a port in Israel, officials said on Sunday.
The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control, saying the activists are expected to return to their home countries.
The FFC says that quadcopters have surrounded the Madleen and sprayed the flotilla with a white paint-like substance before it was seized.
Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
“The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli military in international waters around 2 am,” Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
