Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat on Monday morning, preventing the activists onboard, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Madleen departed from Italy on June 1 aiming to bring awareness to food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has called the “hungriest place on Earth”. After 21 months of war, the UN has warned the territory’s entire population is at risk of famine.
AFP lost contact with the Madleen early Monday morning.
At around 3:02 am CET (0102 GMT), Israeli forces “forcibly intercepted” the vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement.
“If you see this video we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,” Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video shared by the coalition.
The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the diversion, saying in a statement the boat was being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
The Israeli government had vowed to prevent the ship from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back.
On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the blockade, in place since years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons.
After diverting the boat, Israel’s foreign ministry posted a picture of the activists all in orange life jackets being offered water and sandwiches.
“All the passengers of the yacht are safe and unharmed,” the ministry wrote on social media, adding that it expected the activists to return to their home countries.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.
It recently allowed minimal humanitarian deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.
Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution centre.
‘Risked their lives’ for food
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal and witnesses said the civilians had been heading to a site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Witness Abdallah Nour al-Din told AFP that “people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah” in the early morning.
“After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved toward the site and the army opened fire,” he said.
The Israeli military said it fired on people who “continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers” despite warnings.
The GHF claimed in a statement there had been no incidents “at any of our three sites” on Sunday.
Outside Nasser Hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body bags.
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