That's what it's about

• For days, Greta Thunberg and other activists were traveling on the sailing ship Madleen to bring aid to the Gaza Strip.
• Shortly before reaching their destination, they were stopped by Israeli authorities.
• The ship will be brought to the Israeli coast, and the passengers should return to their home countries, the Foreign Ministry wrote on X.

After a days-long journey on a sailing ship carrying aid for the people in the Gaza Strip, Greta Thunberg and other activists were stopped by Israeli authorities shortly before reaching their destination. The ship will be brought to the Israeli coast, and the passengers should return to their home countries, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced early this morning on Platform X. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had previously announced that the Israeli army had boarded the ship, the Madleen.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry further stated that the activists attempted to stage a media provocation with the sole purpose of attracting public attention. Their cargo was so small that it didn't even correspond to a truckload of aid. There are ways to get aid to the Gaza Strip—without Instagram selfies, the statement said.

Warning from the Minister of Defense

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Sunday to prevent the ship's arrival. The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, Katz announced. Israel has previously denied activists permission to dock their ships on the coast of the isolated Gaza Strip.

Day-long journey through the eastern Mediterranean

Thunberg and eleven other activists set sail from Sicily on June 1st, bringing urgently needed relief supplies such as baby food and medical supplies to Gaza on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship. They also wanted to use the action to draw international attention to the humanitarian emergency in the densely populated coastal region with around two million inhabitants. After their days-long journey through the eastern Mediterranean, they were scheduled to arrive on the Gaza coast on Monday morning.

Thunberg has become world-famous for her rigorous fight for more climate protection. The now 22-year-old Swede has also long been committed—and now primarily—to the concerns of the Palestinian people. Her credo: Without social justice, there can be no climate justice.

She repeatedly accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians. Critics, however, accuse her of ignoring the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, which triggered the Gaza War.

Israel has blocked the delivery of food, medicine, and other essential goods to the Gaza Strip for almost three months in the course of its war against the Islamist Hamas, but has recently eased the blockade somewhat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government says it wants to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it is holding. (chk)

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