Board of charity of the board of directors of Israeli forces for Gaza with activist Greta Thunburg on board

Jerusalem – Israeli forces have climbed aboard a charitable ship trying to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, the Flotilla Coalition said on Monday.

The British flag yacht Madleen, operated by the Pro-Palestinian FFC, had left Sicily on June 6 and hoped to reach Gaza later in the day, when the interception took place, the group said on its telegram account.

Among those aboard the boat are a Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg And Rima Hassan, French member of the European Parliament.

The Israeli army had no immediate comments.

Shortly before the FFC declaration, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a video on X showing the Israeli Navy communicating with Madleen on a speaker, exhorting him to change course.

“The maritime area off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade,” said a soldier. “If you want to provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you can do so via the (Israeli) port of Ashdod.”

The yacht, with its crew of 12 people, brought a symbolic expedition of humanitarian aid, including rice and babies formula.

The Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz Oreduced the army on Sunday to prevent Madleen from reaching Gazaqualifying the mission an effort of propaganda to support Hamas.

Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

The blockade remained in place by several conflicts, including the current war, which began after an assault led by Hamas on the south of Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people, according to an Israeli count.

The Gaza Ministry of Health says more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli military campaign.

The United Nations warned that most of the more than 2 million Gaza residents are faced with famine.