The Israeli military has seized a Gaza-bound aid ship, detaining a dozen prominent activists onboard, including Greta Thunberg and towing the vessel to the port of Ashdod in south of the occupied Palestinian territories.
“SOS! the volunteers on Madleen have been kidnapped by Israeli forces,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organized the mission, said on Telegram late on Sunday, adding that communication was lost after Israeli naval forces boarded the vessel.
Live footage showed Israeli boats surrounding the ship in international waters, with soldiers ordering activists onboard to raise their hands.
The FFC launched British-flagged yacht Madleen toward Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and a dozen rights defenders from multiple countries, including Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, in direct defiance of Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade.
“My name is Greta Thunberg and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,” posted by the activist on her X account.
Earlier, in an audio message to The Sunday Times, Thunberg reaffirmed her support for Gaza and condemned the Israeli genocide. “We are fully aware of the dangers of our mission and we accept these dangers with all our heart and soul. But we believe that silence in the face of genocide, injustice, and the hunger of millions of people is a much greater danger,” she said.
Israeli attack on aid ship sparks condemnations
Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, called on the international community to condemn “Israel’s brutal attack on the aid ship.”
“We strongly condemn the Zionist piracy against the Madleen in international waters and preventing it from reaching Gaza,” read a Hamas statement, demanding the immediate release of the activists on board the ship.
Separately, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine denounced the Israeli action.
“The maritime piracy against the Madleen is a war crime that requires widespread popular and international mobilization,” the group said in a statement.
On the other hand, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese urged the British government to take immediate action to secure the release of the ship and its passengers after it had been hijacked by the occupying forces.
Albanese, a supporter of the FFC operation, has urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade. “Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza,” she wrote on X.
4399**9417
Your Comment