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Israel’s military took control of a boat trying to deliver food to Palestinians in Gaza in the early hours of Monday morning, and brought its crew of activists including Greta Thunberg to an Israeli port.
The Madleen was making a symbolic attempt to break to the blockade of Gaza and raise awareness of a looming “starvation crisis”.
It was never likely to get through Israel’s naval blockade of the territory, where UN-backed experts have warned of looming famine, and dozens of people have been killed by Israeli forces trying to reach food distribution centres.
Even attempting to reach Gaza by boat is risky. In May, another boat sailing as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group that organised the Madleen’s voyage, caught fire off Malta and issued an SOS after what the group said was an attack by Israeli drones. Israel’s military declined to comment.
In 2010, nine activists were killed when Israeli commandos raided a small fleet of ships trying to take supplies including building materials to Gaza. Israel began blockading Gaza in 2007.
Among the last communications from the Madleen before it lost communications was a photo showing the 12-strong crew gathered in a circle, wearing lifejackets, with their hands in the air.
It was posted to social media by a team working with the French MEP Rima Hassan, who was also onboard. A series of pre-recorded messages from crew members were released online.
“If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,” Thunberg said in a brief message, urging family, friends and supporters to put pressure on the Swedish government to secure her release as soon as possible.
Shortly afterwards, Israel’s foreign ministry said the crew was being taken to Israel and “were expected to return to their home countries”, and followed up by posting an image of Thunberg being offered a sandwich.
Israel has no legal authority to detain the Madleen crew in international waters and confiscate aid onboard, which included food, baby formula and medical supplies, said Huwaida Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organiser.
“This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade – their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately.”
The UK-flagged Madleen set sail at a time of mounting international pressure on Israel over the starvation of Palestinians inside Gaza. In an apparent response to the huge amount of publicity generated by the group, Israel’s foreign ministry attacked the crew as “celebrities” on a “selfie yacht”.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, made personal attacks on Thunberg and the rest of the crew in a post on X, and said they would be required to watch a film about the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, which launched the war. About 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 250 taken to Gaza, where 55 are still held hostage.
Israel’s attacks on Gaza since then have killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women, children and elderly people, and injured more than 125,000, according to health authorities in the territory, whose figures have proved accurate in past conflicts.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes and displaced multiple times, and last month food security experts warned the territory was at “critical risk of famine”.
The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in occupied Palestinian territories called for the UK to secure the release of the Madleen and its crew and urged others to challenge the blockade.
“Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza,” Francesca Albanese posted on X. “Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us.”
On Sunday, at least a dozen Palestinians were killed trying to get food, hit by Israeli gunfire as they headed towards two food distribution centres run by a US and Israeli backed logistics group. Israel said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces.
