A group of activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid yacht, have been taken to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport for deportation, Israeli authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
The vessel, named Madleen, carrying 12 people aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters and towed to the port city of Ashdod on Monday.
Israel dismissed the mission as a “selfie yacht,” saying the passengers were being returned to their home countries. The Israeli foreign ministry warned on X that those refusing to sign deportation documents would face judicial proceedings.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the activist group behind the vessel, stated the campaigners were “being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities” and might be allowed to fly out as soon as Tuesday evening.
The Madleen carried a symbolic cargo of rice and baby formula, challenging the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Among those onboard were citizens from Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey, including French MEP Rima Hassan and Al Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad.
Setting sail from Italy on 1 June, the flotilla sought to highlight the starvation conditions in Gaza amid the ongoing blockade. Israel maintains the blockade is essential to prevent weapons reaching Hamas militants, a position reiterated by Defence Minister Israel Katz, who warned against attempts to breach it.
The FFC regards the blockade as illegal and condemned Katz’s statement as a threat of unlawful force against civilians, accusing Israel of attempting to justify violence with misinformation.
The incident recalls the 2010 raid on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, when Israeli commandos killed 10 activists attempting to break the blockade.
Israel has recently allowed limited aid through its land crossings, prioritising distribution via the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it and the US support, but which faces criticism from humanitarian groups.
The Israeli foreign ministry highlighted on X that while activists like Greta sought publicity with less than a truckload of aid, over 1,200 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the past two weeks, distributing nearly 11 million meals.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting at least 54,880 deaths since Israel’s military campaign began 20 months ago, following Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
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