Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Humanitarian Ship Carrying Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan

New Delhi: Israeli naval commandos have intercepted the British-flagged humanitarian vessel Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), as it attempted to breach Israel’s long-standing naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Among the passengers on board were well-known climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Hassan took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that Israeli forces boarded the vessel at around 2 a.m. while it was in international waters. “The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m. Actions are coming – stay tuned,” she posted.

A photo shared by Hassan showed several people wearing life jackets with their hands raised, appearing to be detained.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirmed via Telegram that it had lost all communication with Madleen, and accused Israeli forces of “kidnapping” the activists.

Greta Thunberg also posted a video message, urging the Swedish government to act for the release of all volunteers on board. “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupation forces, or forces supporting Israel. I ask all my friends, family, and comrades to pressure the Swedish government to secure our release,” she said.

The Madleen had departed from Sicily carrying humanitarian aid, including baby formula and rice, with the goal of delivering supplies to Gaza and challenging Israel’s maritime blockade, in effect since 2007.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the mission, calling the Madleen a “selfie yacht of the celebrities” and labeling it a media stunt. In a statement on X, the ministry said, “While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation... more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel in the past two weeks,” adding that nearly 11 million meals had been delivered through official humanitarian channels. “There are ways to deliver aid to Gaza — and they don’t involve Instagram selfies,” the post read.

This marks the second failed Gaza-bound attempt by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in recent months. In May, the FFC’s vessel Conscience was allegedly damaged by a drone strike in international waters near Malta — an attack the group blamed on Israel. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in that incident.

With inputs from IANS