Israeli Commandos Intercept Humanitarian Vessel Madleen Carrying Greta Thunberg En Route to Gaza

Israeli commandos have intercepted the Madleen, a British-flagged humanitarian vessel operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), as it attempted to reach the Gaza Strip. Among those on board were climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

The FFC said the vessel was carrying humanitarian aid and aiming to challenge Israel’s longstanding naval blockade on Gaza. The Madleen had departed from Sicily on Friday, and was sailing in international waters when it was reportedly intercepted by Israeli forces.

Taking to social media platform X, Hassan shared an image of passengers in life jackets with their hands raised, writing that the crew had been "arrested by the Israeli army in international waters". The FFC later said on Telegram that communication with the vessel had been lost and accused Israeli forces of having “kidnapped” the activists on board.

The coalition described the Madleen as a civilian vessel, “unarmed and sailing in international waters,” adding that it carried human rights defenders from around the world. "We will not be intimidated. The world is watching," the FFC said in a statement, calling Israel’s blockade illegal and accusing it of using "smears" to justify the "unlawful use of force against civilians".

Israel, however, strongly defended the interception. The Israeli Foreign Ministry dismissed the voyage as a media stunt, referring to the Madleen as a “selfie yacht of the celebrities”. In a post on X, the ministry said the vessel was "safely making its way to the shores of Israel", and that its passengers were expected to be deported to their home countries.

"While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid — more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks," the Ministry stated. It added that nearly 11 million meals had been distributed to civilians in Gaza by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

"There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, they do not involve Instagram selfies," the Ministry continued. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels."

According to the FFC, the Madleen was carrying symbolic aid, including rice and baby formula, intended to draw international attention to the blockade. The interception took place just hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that all necessary measures would be taken to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza.

Speaking to NDTV, Israeli Embassy Spokesperson Guy Nir said, "This is not aid but a publicity stunt. They have less than 100 pounds of aid — a tiny fraction of what is being delivered successfully every day into Gaza."

Nir also argued that unauthorised vessels cannot be granted special treatment simply because of who is on board. “Like they bring in aid — they might bring in other things, like ammunition. Hence, we need to check before entry, like all aid. They do not have different privileges,” he told NDTV.

The Madleen's voyage marked the FFC’s second attempt in recent months to breach the blockade. A previous mission involving another vessel, Conscience, was aborted in May after the ship reportedly came under drone attack in international waters off Malta. The FFC blamed Israel for that incident, which left the vessel severely damaged, although the Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.​