Hijacked at sea: Israel seizes Gaza aid ship, detains global activists

Israel abducts prominent global activists including Greta Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan, sparking global outrage

GAZA, Palestine (MNTV) – A British-flagged humanitarian vessel carrying emergency supplies for starving Palestinians in Gaza was intercepted in international waters by Israeli naval forces in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ship, Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was on a peaceful mission to deliver food, baby formula, and medical aid to Palestinians facing mass starvation under Israel’s prolonged siege.

On board were 12 international passengers including world-renowned Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, French-Palestinian Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan, and volunteers from Türkiye, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Also among them was journalist Omar Faiad from Al Jazeera Mubasher. The group departed from Catania, Italy, on June 1, aiming to breach the Gaza blockade that the United Nations has described as a key driver of what it now calls “the hungriest place on Earth.”

The Madleen was still about 100 nautical miles from Gaza when Israeli drones surrounded it, reportedly spraying a white chemical that caused eye irritation and impaired visibility. Soon after, Israeli commandos stormed the ship and forcibly seized it, towing it to Ashdod Port in southern Israel.

The detainees were then transported to Givon Prison in Ramla, where, according to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered they be held under strict conditions—barred from access to phones, radios, or any form of communication.

Media reports suggest they were taken in window-tinted vehicles to prevent public visibility. As of now, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition says they remain unaware of the exact whereabouts or conditions of the detainees, fueling fears for their safety.

In a pre-recorded video shared by the coalition, Thunberg stated: “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters.”

The interception has drawn sharp rebukes from human rights organizations and several governments.

Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard condemned the raid as a “violation of international law,” stating, “Israel, as an occupying power, has a legal obligation to allow food and medicine into Gaza. They should have let Madleen deliver its humanitarian supplies.”

Adalah, an Israeli human rights center, demanded the immediate disclosure of the activists’ location and legal access. “This is a breach of international maritime law and a violation of the activists’ rights,” the group said in a statement, pledging to pursue legal avenues for their release.

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Harris called the event “a shame on the international community,” adding that it underscores the desperate situation in Gaza. “The Madleen was an unarmed civilian mission. It should never have come down to individual citizens delivering aid,” he said.

Despite intense international calls for ceasefire and humanitarian access, Israel has largely sealed Gaza’s borders since March 2, allowing only limited supplies under international pressure.

Aid agencies report that over 2.4 million people in Gaza are facing imminent famine.

Humanitarian mission, not political act

Organizers of the Freedom Flotilla insist their mission was purely humanitarian. The Madleen, an 18-metre vessel, carried essential aid and symbolized global solidarity with Gaza’s civilians.

The list of detainees reads like a roll call of global civil society. Alongside Thunberg and Hassan, the ship carried Yasemin Acar (Germany), Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Reva Viard (France), Thiago Avila (Brazil), Suayb Ordu (Türkiye), Sergio Toribio (Spain), Marco van Rennes (Netherlands), and journalist Omar Faiad.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has indicated plans to deport all detainees. However, no timeline has been given, nor any clarity on due process. Families and supporters of the activists have voiced concerns over harsh detention conditions, especially under a government led by ultra-nationalist figures like Ben-Gvir.

The Madleen was more than a supply vessel. It represented international conscience in the face of what multiple UN agencies and the International Court of Justice have described as possible crimes against humanity.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa, over its treatment of Palestinian civilians.

In this context, the interception of Madleen has sparked not only legal but moral outrage. “What the flotilla has highlighted is the urgent need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza,” said Ireland’s Harris. “It is a symbol of shame for the world that individuals have to risk their lives at sea to do what governments should be doing.”

As diplomatic pressure mounts and legal battles loom, the fate of the 12 detainees—and of the 2.4 million starving Gazans—hangs in the balance.

Civil society actors, legal teams, and international governments are now mobilizing to push for the activists’ immediate release and to challenge Israel’s continued stranglehold on Gaza’s borders.

But for now, the aid meant to reach Gaza’s starving children sits in Ashdod, and the world watches as yet another chapter of humanitarian outrage unfolds in the Eastern Mediterranean.