An aid vessel attempting to breach the naval blockade on Gaza was intercepted by Israeli forces in the early hours of Monday, according to a statement released by the mission organisers. The intercepted boat, named Madleen, carried international activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rima Hassan.
The Madleen, a British-flagged yacht, was part of a mission organised by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). It had departed from Sicily on June 6 and was expected to reach the Gaza Strip later on Monday. However, Israeli troops boarded the yacht before it could complete its journey.
French MEP Rima Hassan posted on X that the Israeli army arrested all 12 crew members aboard the Freedom Flotilla in international waters at approximately 2 am.
English below
L’équipage de la Freedom Flotilla a été arrêté par l’armée israélienne en eaux internationales autour de deux heures du matin.
Des actions sont à venir, restez connectés.
The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international… pic.twitter.com/GSA2LFHjvb
— Rima Hassan (@RimaHas) June 9, 2025
A mission boat of ‘selfie yacht’
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also released a video on X, showing its personnel boarding the vessel, providing life jackets and refreshments to the activists. The ministry described the operation as intercepting a “media provocation” and referred to the yacht as a “selfie yacht” carrying “celebrities.”
All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over. pic.twitter.com/tLZZYcspJO
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
According to the ministry, the vessel was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid—mainly rice and baby formula—less than what a single aid truck would typically transport. It also claimed that most of the supplies had already been consumed by those on board. The remaining aid, it stated, would be sent to Gaza via official humanitarian channels.
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In its statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry highlighted that over 1,200 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the past two weeks, distributing nearly 11 million meals through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
This interception marks the latest attempt by civil society organisations to challenge Israel’s longstanding naval blockade on Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has repeatedly condemned the blockade, calling it a form of collective punishment and demanding unrestricted humanitarian access to the enclave.
The interception follows another failed maritime mission by the Freedom Flotilla last month, during which one of its vessels was damaged in a drone attack near Malta. The group had accused Israel of carrying out the strike.
The naval blockade on Gaza has been in place since Hamas took control of the region in 2007, with both Israel and Egypt enforcing various levels of restrictions. Critics argue that the blockade imposes severe hardships on Gaza’s nearly two million residents, limiting both goods and movement.
