<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-GB" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y264x3nnno">bbc.com</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Activists say Israeli troops have boarded aid ship bound for Gaza</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Jaroslav Lukiv</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">June 9, 2025</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p>Activists
say Israeli troops have boarded a yacht trying to bring humanitarian
aid to the Gaza Strip, in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade.</p><p>"Connection has been lost" on the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) campaign group said on the Telegram app.</p><p>It posted a photo showing people in life jackets sitting with their hands up. </p><p>Appearing
to confirm that the ship had been boarded, Israel's foreign ministry
said the yacht was "safely making its way to the shores of Israel" and
its passengers were "expected to return to their home countries". </p><p>Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among those aboard the vessel, which was reported to be off the Egyptain coast.</p></div><div><p>Israel says its blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas militants in Gaza. </p><p>After
reporting that the yacht had been boarded, the FFC posted short,
pre-recorded videos of some of the activists, including Thunberg. </p><p>In
the footage, activists say "if you see this video, we have been
intercepted and kidnapped" by the Israeli military or forces supporting
Israel. </p><p>The FFC earlier said the vessel, which left Italy's
island of Sicily on Friday, was carrying humanitarian aid and had been
"prepared for the possibility of an Israeli attack".</p><p>Israeli
Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned that the yacht should turn back
and that Israel would act against any attempt to breach the blockade.</p><p>He
wrote in a post on X on Sunday: "I have instructed the IDF [Israel
Defense Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' [sic] hate flotilla
from reaching the shores of Gaza - and to take whatever measures are
necessary to that end."</p><p>Katz says the purpose of Israel's
blockade, which has been in place since 2007, is to "prevent the
transfer of weapons to Hamas" and is essential to Israel's security as
it seeks to destroy Hamas.</p></div><div><p>The
FFC has argued that the sea blockade is illegal, characterising Katz's
statement as an example of Israel threatening the unlawful use of force
against civilians and "attempting to justify that violence with smears".</p><p>"We will not be intimidated. The world is watching," FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said.</p><p>"The
Madleen is a civilian vessel, unarmed and sailing in international
waters, carrying humanitarian aid and human rights defenders from across
the globe... Israel has no right to obstruct our effort to reach Gaza."</p><p>The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the group said.</p><p>Citizens of Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are onboard.</p><p><a target="_self" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38267054">In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded Turkish ship Mavi Marmara t</a>hat was leading an aid flotilla towards Gaza.</p><p>Israel
recently began to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month land
blockade, prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian
Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the US but widely condemned by
humanitarian groups.</p><p>The UN's human rights chief, Volker Türk,
said last week Palestinians were being presented with the "grimmest of
choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access
the meagre food that is being made available".</p><p>But in a post on X
early on Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry said: "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, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has
distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza.</p><p>"There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip - they do not involve Instagram selfies."</p><p>It
is almost 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza
in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel
on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251
others were taken hostage.</p><p>At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.</p></div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<br></div></div>