The Navy of Israel seized the British-flagged ship Madleen, chartered by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and carrying aid to Gaza Strip , and the sailboat is now heading towards an Israeli port. Hamas, Turkey and Iran condemned the Israeli intervention.

The sailboat Madleen It set sail from Sicily on June 1st with the aim of breaking the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and delivering a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave. Its last position was about 31 nautical miles from the Gaza Strip.

As FFC reported on its Telegram account, the Israeli army seized the ship during the night before it reaches land.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that the sailboat is under Israeli control.

The 'selfie yacht' and 'celebrity yacht' is safely heading towards the coast of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries, the ministry wrote to X.

All passengers on the Madleen are safe and sound, the ministry said. They were given sandwiches and water. The show is over, it added.

While Greta (Thunberg) and others attempted to stage a media provocation, with the sole purpose of gaining publicity – which included less humanitarian aid than (can fit) a truck – more than 1,200 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered Gaza from Israel in the past two weeks and in addition the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has distributed almost 11 million meals directly to Gazans, the Israeli Foreign Ministry explained in its statement.

The minimal amount of aid that was on the yacht and which had not been consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through genuine humanitarian channels, he stressed.

Among the 12 passengers on the Madleen was the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and the French MEP Rima Hassan, of Palestinian origin.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz asked the armed forces on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from entering Gaza waters, describing the mission as an attempt at propaganda in support of Hamas.

Katz added that he has requested, after the ship's arrival, at the port of Ashdod , to show the activists on board this video of the atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023 in Israel, which was the trigger for the war in Gaza.

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OR Turkey condemned today the arrest of Madleen, which, as he said, was carrying Turkish citizens , speaking of a clear violation of international law.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed that the Israeli intervention threatened maritime security and once again demonstrated that Israel is acting like a terrorist state.

And the Iran spoke for an act of piracy The attack on this ship is considered a form of piracy under international law, said Esmail Bakae, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Besides, the Hamas condemned the seizure of the ship, describing it as state terrorism , while adding that he salutes the activists.

On her part, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese has supported Madleen's effort and yesterday Sunday called on other ships to try to break the blockade of Gaza.

Madleen's journey may be over, but the mission is not. Every port in the Mediterranean must send ships with aid and solidarity to Gaza, she wrote in X.

Source: APE – MPE, AFP, Reuters