Israel intercepts Freedom Flotilla heading to Gaza with aid

The Madleen ship, carrying the Freedom Flotilla and a symbolic shipment of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, was intercepted early Monday morning by the Israeli army. "We are being attacked. A war crime is being committed," Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila stated on social media around midnight. The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced in a tweet that Swedish youth Greta Thunberg, who is part of the flotilla, is "safe and sound" and on her way to Israel. The tweet is accompanied by a photo of Thunberg being offered a bun by a soldier.

Several of the 12 activists traveling on the Madleen have managed to share videos and brief messages from the moment they denounced being "kidnapped" by Israeli forces. Ávila emphasized that, by being in international waters, Israel has committed a war crime with this operation. It has also committed a war crime by preventing the legitimate arrival of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan shared an hourly message on X to record when they lost communication due to the Israeli intervention. "As soon as they stop hearing from us, it means the internet has been cut off and Israel is preparing to attack us. This will give them a better idea of ​​the timing," she explained. The first was at 11:12 p.m. local time on Sunday (10:12 p.m. in mainland Spain), and the third and final one at 1:12 a.m. on Monday.

Shortly after, Hassan posted a final image of the boat's deck, covered in paint-like stains. "A drone above us released a white liquid," he reported on X. The radio had stopped working due to "intentional interference," so they could no longer request help from another vessel.

Defense Minister Israel Katz has congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for their "swift and secure capture of the Madleen flotilla to prevent them from breaking the blockade and reaching the shores of Gaza."

According to Katz's statement, he ordered his officers to "show passengers the video of the horrors of the October 7 massacre when they arrive at the port of Ashdod." He also lashed out, as he had the day before, at the Swedish activist: "It is appropriate that the anti-Semite Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the terrorist organization is that they came to support and for whom they work."

For its part, Hamas has condemned the interception of the ship and called the operation "state terrorism" and a "blatant attack on human conscience." The volunteers, it argued, intended to "break the siege and expose the crime of starvation." The Freedom Flotilla's attempt to deliver aid to Gaza means, according to the Islamist group's media channels, that "Gaza is not alone."

On Sunday afternoon, when the boat was less than 300 kilometers from the coast of the Palestinian Strip, Katz warned that he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to act to prevent the "flotilla of hate" from reaching the shores of Gaza. "And to take all necessary measures to that end. To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokesmen, I say clearly: you must return, because you will not reach Gaza," he added.

In anticipation of the ship's interception by Israeli forces, as it ultimately occurred, the activists had prepared a series of videos in which they state their names and nationalities, with passports in hand as proof, including Spanish volunteer Sergio Toribio. They also call on their respective governments to intervene. They also ask citizens to lobby through various channels to force their countries' leaders to take action against Israel.

In this regard, the Freedom Flotilla coalition also points out that the Madleen is a civilian vessel flying the UK flag and that the UK "has a legal obligation to protect its vessel and the civilians on board from Israeli intervention." A similar call was made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese : "The UK Government must urgently seek a full clarification and ensure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew." She also requested that the vessel be allowed to continue "its legitimate humanitarian mission."

The Freedom Flotilla was created in 2010 as a peaceful coalition in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Its humanitarian purpose was to deliver aid to Gaza when Israel has blocked access. That year, a convoy carrying 10,000 tons of aid to the Strip, consisting of six ships with 750 people, was also intercepted by Israeli forces, resulting in fatal consequences: 10 people were killed and around twenty were injured in the military intervention at the end of May.

On this occasion, the Freedom Flotilla's objective was to deliver a symbolic amount of food to the starving population of Gaza, primarily rice and infant formula. But above all, its journey represented a symbolic attempt to "open a humanitarian corridor" after months of blockade and obstruction of the entry of goods.

Israel has been preventing the smooth flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip since March 2, when Benjamin Netanyahu's government imposed a total blockade that lasted more than 80 days. The hunger and shortage crisis was so severe, with the entire population of the territory (2.1 million people, almost half of them children) at serious risk due to lack of food , that Israeli authorities opened the door to a limited number of trucks.

However, the UN has repeatedly denounced the insufficient number. Israeli forces are only allowing access to 100 supply trucks, even though organizations estimate that between 500 and 600 of these vehicles are needed each day to meet the population's basic needs.

The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) 's militarized distribution of food parcels outside the UN does not address Gazans' food needs, does not provide acceptable safety conditions - more than 100 people have been shot dead while visiting GHF distribution points - and therefore does not comply with fundamental humanitarian principles, according to NGOs and the UN.