Israeli commandos intercept Greta Thunberg's Gaza-bound aid ship, divert it
PTC News Desk: An aid vessel transporting international activists—including Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg and French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan—was intercepted by Israeli forces early Monday while attempting to break the naval blockade on Gaza.
The yacht, named Madleen and sailing under a British flag, was part of a mission coordinated by the pro-Palestinian group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). According to a statement posted by the group on Telegram, the boat departed from Sicily on June 6 and was scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip later today before being boarded by Israeli troops.
Taking to micro-blogging site X, Hassan claimed that all the crew of the Freedom Flotilla boat were arrested by the Israeli Army in international waters around 2 am.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing Israeli forces taking control of the boat and providing refreshments to the crew members who were donning life jackets. "The yacht, with its 12-person crew, was carrying a symbolic shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula," the X post read.
In a social media statement, the ministry dismissed the mission as a "media stunt," referring to it as a "selfie yacht" carrying 'celebrities'. It claimed the aid on board amounted to "less than a single truckload" and alleged that most of it had already been used by the activists themselves.
The ministry added that the remaining supplies would be delivered to Gaza via official humanitarian channels.
- PTC NEWS
