Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday ordered the military to block a charity vessel carrying activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, from breaching Israel’s naval blockade to reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly toward the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
"I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen ... does not reach Gaza," Katz said in a statement.
"To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You'd better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza."
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to "challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes" in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
The war was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led incursion that caused around 1,200 deaths and captured 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's genocidal war, in comparison, has devastated Gaza, displacing nearly all its residents and killing more than 54,700 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza health authorities.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population. The territory's roughly 2 million Palestinians are almost completely reliant on international aid because nearly all of Gaza's food production capabilities have been destroyed.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel's national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
"The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas," he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said Sunday that the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 kilometers) from Gaza. "We are preparing for the possibility of interception," she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla toward Gaza.
