Archive June 9, 2025

Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship, preventing the 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.

Israeli forces “forcibly intercepted” the Madleen in international waters overnight about 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition NGO said in a statement on Monday. Al Jazeera lost contact with the vessel at 7:00 GMT.

Apart from Thunberg, those taken into custody by Israel are Palestinian French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Turkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; Yasemin Acar from Germany; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.

Israel has detained the crew for “interrogation”.

Here’s how the world has reacted:

Palestine

The interception of the Madleen is a “flagrant violation of international law”, Hamas said in a statement, calling for the activists on board to be released and saying it holds Israel “fully accountable for their safety”.

“Israel has no legal authority to restrict access to Palestine since such is within the exclusive right of the Palestinian people,” said the rights organisation Al-Haq, which is based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Iran

“The assault on this flotilla, since it happened in international waters, is considered a form of piracy under international law,” said Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Turkiye

Israel’s interception of the Madleen is a “clear violation of international law” that “once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state”, Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

France

President Emmanuel Macron “has asked that our six French nationals be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” said the Elysee Palace in a press release. “We have asked to be able to exercise our consular protection over them” and to “visit them”, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot added.

Spain

Spain has summoned Dan Poraz, charge d’affaires at the Israeli embassy in Madrid, reported the Spanish newspaper El Pais and Al Jazeera Arabic, quoting a source at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Australia

The Jewish Council of Australia has expressed “grave concerns for the activists on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla” and called “on the Australian government to urgently intervene to secure the immediate release of the vessel and safety of the crew”.

United States

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. “We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza.”

European Parliament

Israel’s seizure of the Madleen “outside Israeli territorial waters” is a “blatant violation of international law”, said The Left, the European Parliament faction that Hassan belongs to. “The arrest of the crew members and the confiscation of aid intended for a population in immediate humanitarian distress is unacceptable and is clearly part of a wider strategy to starve and massacre Palestinians in Gaza while hiding Israeli war crimes from the world.”

United Nations

“Madleen must be released immediately,” United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese said. “Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states and a moral imperative for all of us. Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together – united, they will be unstoppable.”

Amnesty International

EXPLAINER

Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen aid ship in the early hours of Monday morning as it approached the shores of Gaza in an effort to distribute badly needed aid to the Palestinian enclave’s starving population.

The ship has drawn international media attention since it set sail from Catania, Italy, about a week ago. As it neared the shores of Gaza, speculation was rife about how the Israelis would respond, considering their past actions in attacking aid ships sailing to provide supplies to the Strip.

Israel has killed at least 54,880 Palestinians and wounded 126,227 since its latest war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Here’s what you need to know about the Madleen, its crew and what happens next:

What happened?

Israeli drones encircled the Madleen, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition at about 3am local time (01:00 GMT). The drones began spraying it with a white, paint-like substance before the commandos eventually took hold of the ship. The nature of the sprayed substance remains unclear.

The Israeli soldiers ordered the 12 people on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, to throw their phones overboard. They then filmed a video, handing the crew members sandwiches and water bottles, and wrote on X that the “selfie yacht” had been stopped.

The ship was carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving in Gaza because of the strict siege enacted since March 2. The siege was lifted partially last month, but the aid distribution has since been calamitous, as Israeli soldiers have shot at Palestinians in line for the limited rations being distributed, with aid still not reaching a majority of people in Gaza.

Where was the Madleen intercepted?

The ship was about 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza when it was stopped by Israeli commandos.

It was in international waters at the time. Israel’s blockade of Gaza is deemed illegal by most international governments. Under international law, countries and their militaries hold sovereign rights over their territorial waters only, not international waters.

Who was on the ship?

There were 12 people on board, the most high-profile included Sweden’s Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament from France.

The others are:

• Yasemin Acar – Germany
• Baptiste Andre – France
• Thiago Avila – Brazil
• Omar Faiad – France; Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent
• Pascal Maurieras – France
• Yanis Mhamdi – France
• Suayb Ordu – Turkiye
• Sergio Toribio – Spain
• Marco van Rennes – The Netherlands
• Reva Viard – France

Where is everyone now?

Israeli media reported that the Madleen and its crew members were being taken to the port city of Ashdod. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that it expected them to return to their home countries and used the opportunity to poke fun at Thunberg.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to screen a propaganda film made up of footage from the Hamas-led October 7 attacks to the crew of the Madleen.

“Antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-supporting friends should see exactly what the Hamas terrorist organisation – which they came to support and act on behalf of – truly is,” Katz wrote on X.

Have any other governments said anything?

Yes, a few.

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli charge d’affaires in Madrid, Dan Poraz, over the interception of the Madleen, according to Israeli media.

Turkiye condemned Israel’s refusal to allow the ship to dock in Gaza. It called Israeli actions “a clear violation of international law”.

“This heinous act by the Netanyahu government, which threatens the freedom of navigation and maritime security, once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There was no immediate response from the governments of Brazil, Germany, France or the Netherlands – the other countries with citizens on board the Madleen.