The Freedom Flotilla vessel was intercepted earlier than it reached the Palestinian enclave
Israeli naval forces have intercepted and detained the crew of the Gaza-bound civilian boat Madleen, which was making an attempt to ship humanitarian help. The vessel – dubbed a “selfie yacht” by Tel Aviv – carried local weather activist Greta Thunberg, French MEP Rima Hassan and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, amongst others.
Operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the boat was intercepted early Monday in worldwide waters and is now being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel’s International Ministry confirmed the detention, stating that the group was “anticipated to return to their residence international locations.”
“All of the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are secure and unhurt. They had been supplied with sandwiches and water. The present is over,” the International Ministry posted on X.
All of the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are secure and unhurt. They had been supplied with sandwiches and water. The present is over. pic.twitter.com/tLZZYcspJO
— Israel International Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
UN Particular Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, mentioned she was on the telephone with the captain when the Israeli army intervened.
“On the time the boat was intercepted, nobody was wounded,” she wrote on X. “I heard the troopers talking whereas the captain was on the telephone with me. I misplaced reference to the captain as he was telling me that ‘one other boat is approaching.’”
Earlier than the interception, the group claimed they had been “underneath assault” by Israeli drones and quadcopters spraying a chemical-like substance. In a livestream video posted by the FFC, activist Yasmin Acar confirmed a white substance masking the deck. “It’s affecting my eyes,” she mentioned, earlier than the stream was minimize.
The group later posted a photograph exhibiting crew members in lifejackets with their palms raised. It additionally eleased a number of pre-recorded appeals from individuals. “SOS! The volunteers on Madleen have been kidnapped by Israeli forces,” every of t messages claimed, urging the general public to “stress international ministries and assist us maintain them secure.”
Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz had beforehand vowed to “take all vital measures” to stop the boat from reaching Gaza.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: it’s best to flip again,” he wrote on X on Sunday. “Israel will act towards any try to interrupt the blockade – at sea, within the air, and on land.”
Thunberg mentioned she joined the mission “as a result of the second we cease attempting is after we lose our humanity,” including that the voyage was dangerous however vital. In line with the FFC, the passengers included activists from Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands.
The Madleen carried a symbolic cargo of child system and rice. It’s the newest in a sequence of flotillas aiming to problem Israel’s blockade, which was imposed in 2007.
Israel’s International Ministry referred to as the voyage a “media provocation” and insisted that help ought to be delivered by “professional channels,” not by “Instagram selfies.” The ministry added that “the tiny quantity of help that was on the yacht and never consumed by the ‘celebrities’ can be transferred to Gaza by actual humanitarian channels.”
