(Image Credit: Israeli Foreign Ministry)
Israeli forces seized control of a charity vessel aiming to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip and detained its crew of 12 including activist Greta Thunberg, officials said.
The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was intercepted in the early hours of Monday before it could reach Gaza, the FFC said on its Telegram account.
Israel had vowed to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza, with defence minister Israel Katz saying on Sunday that Israel's military would use "any means necessary" to stop it from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza.
Among the 12-strong crew were Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli military in international waters around 2 am," Hassan posted on X.
