Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship carrying Greta Thunberg and other prominent activists, detaining those onboard and taking them to Israel.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the Israeli military had “attacked” and “unlawfully boarded” the “Madleen,” which was attempting to deliver aid to Gaza – where more than 600 days of war, and an 11-week Israeli blockade of all aid, has pushed the enclave’s 2.1 million people deeper into a hunger crisis. Climate activist Thunberg and Rima Hassan – a French member of the European Parliament – are among those on the “Madleen.”
Israel plans to bring the detained activists to Ashdod port and then through a “quick deportation process” via Ben-Gurion Airport, according to a source familiar with the matter. They are expected to arrive in Ashdod on Monday evening, local time.
The FFC had earlier said the ship had come “under assault in international waters,” in a Telegram post. “Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white paint-like substance. Communications are jammed, and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,” the FFC said. A video posted by Israel’s foreign ministry appeared to show a Navy staffer sending a radio message to the vessel saying the “maritime zone off the coast of Gaza was closed.”
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