On board the Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, were packages of humanitarian aid and activist Greta Thunberg. The crew is being held in Israel.
The Israeli navy has boarded and taken control of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship that was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Madleen had departed on 1 June from the port of Catania with around a dozen people on board, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, to bring food and medicine to the Palestinian territory. Since early March, Israel has blocked the distribution of aid there, which in recent weeks has resumed in a disastrous fashion, excluding the vast majority of the population.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission was symbolic in nature, but was stopped by Israel. The humanitarian aid was confiscated and the personnel were detained. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation against the humanitarian vessel, stressing that "the show is over".
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is an international alliance of civil society organisations founded with the aim of breaking the naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since 2007, when the radical organisation Hamas took control of the Palestinian territory after winning elections. Made up of activists from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, the coalition organises peaceful naval missions to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza and draw global attention to the living conditions imposed by the Israeli siege.
The FFC operates on principles of non-violence, respect for human rights and international law. Its ships, loaded with civilian and humanitarian supplies, attempt to reach Gaza's ports directly, symbolically violating the blockade. Among the most active figures within the international alliance was Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who took part in several missions before being killed in the Gaza Strip in 2011.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition's most well-known mission took place in 2010, when the vessel Mavi Marmara was stormed off Gaza by Israeli special forces, who killed ten activists. In the years that followed, the alliance continued with its missions. In May, one of its humanitarian ships was attacked by a drone of presumed Israeli origin off Malta and was forced to abandon the mission.
On 1 June, the vessel Madleen set sail from the port of Catania on a new mission. On board were around a dozen people, including activist Greta Thunberg and French MEP of Palestinian origin Rima Hassan, with the intention of delivering packages of rice, powdered milk and other basic necessities to the Gaza Strip.
During the night of 8 to 9 June, the vessel was stormed by the Israeli navy. The operation took place in international waters, off the coast of Egypt. Some images shared on social media show the Madleen's crew wearing orange life jackets with their arms raised. An irritant substance was also deployed on the ship to overcome any possible resistance from the activists, who were then placed under arrest and transferred to the Israeli city of Ashdod, where they are expected to be expelled to their respective countries of origin. "The ship was illegally boarded, its civilian crew was disarmed and kidnapped, and its life-saving cargo was confiscated," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced via its Telegram account.
Israel Katz, the Israeli Foreign Minister, confirmed the boarding and seizure of the Madleen. "The 'selfie yacht' of 'celebrities' is safely reaching Israel's shores. Passengers are expected to return to their home countries," he said, adding that before departure "Greta the antisemite" and the rest of the activists would be shown a video of "Hamas's atrocities".
