Jerusalem: A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists arrived at an Israeli port after Israeli forces stopped and detained them, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war.

The boat, accompanied by Israel’s navy, arrived in the port of Ashdod, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X early on Tuesday (AEST). It published a photo of Thunberg on social media after she disembarked.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted an image of activist Greta Thunberg on its X account early on Tuesday (AEST).Credit: Israel Foreign Ministry

The 12 activists were undergoing medical checks to ensure they are in good health, the ministry said. They were expected to be held at a detention facility in the city of Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing them.

The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Both have put the territory of about 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces” while trying to deliver desperately needed aid.

“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food and medical supplies – confiscated,” it said in a statement. It said the ship was seized in international waters about 200 kilometres from Gaza.

The Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a social media post that “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel”.

It said the activists would be returned to their home countries, and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing life vests.

The Madleen set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, on Thursday, it stopped to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by Libya’s coast guard.

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“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” Thunberg said in a prerecorded message released after the ship was halted.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies towards the Palestinians.

She was among six French citizens aboard. French President Emmanuel Macron asked Israel to allow them to return to France as soon as possible, his office said in a statement.

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the crew and passengers were aware of the risks and that her ministry has advised against travel to Gaza for a decade and people who disregard that have a clear personal responsibility, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Stenergard said the ministry’s assessment is that no one on board is in danger and there is no need for consular support.

Adalah, the rights group, said Israel had “no legal authority” to take over the ship because it was in international waters and it was headed not to Israel but to the “territorial waters of the state of Palestine.”

“The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law,” Adalah said in a statement.

Israeli officials said the flotilla carried what amounted to less than a truckload of aid.

“This wasn’t humanitarian aid. It’s Instagram activism,” Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said.

After a 2½-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta, organisers said. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the ship’s front section.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Israel sealed off Gaza from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.

Greta Thunberg with part of the crew of the ship Madleen, shortly before the departure for Gaza.Credit: Getty Images

Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half believed to be dead.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said that women and children make up most of the dead.

The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of the population, leaving people almost completely dependent on international aid.

Efforts to broker another truce have been deadlocked for months. Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated, or disarmed and exiled.

AP

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