فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
On the evening of Monday, June 9, 2025, the sailboat Madleen, belonging to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, arrived at the Israeli port of Ashdod after being intercepted by the Israeli navy earlier that morning. The boat was attempting to reach the Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian aid and several pro-Palestinian activists.
Escorted by two Israeli naval vessels, the boat entered the southern Mediterranean port of Ashdod around 8:45 PM local time (17:45 GMT). On board were 12 activists of various nationalities, including French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish, and Dutch. They had departed from Italy on June 1 with the aim of “breaking the Israeli blockade” of Gaza, which is suffering from a dire humanitarian crisis following over 20 months of war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli military stated that the boat was “intercepted” during the night, without specifying the exact location. Greta Thunberg, in a pre-recorded video shared by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (the organization that chartered the boat), said, “If you see this video, we were intercepted and kidnapped in international waters.”
Footage released by the coalition showed activists aboard wearing orange life jackets, hands raised during the interception, with some handing over their mobile phones as instructed. Shortly before, some had thrown their phones or tablets overboard.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is a nonviolent international movement supporting Palestinians through humanitarian aid and political protest against the Gaza blockade.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the passengers were undergoing medical examinations “to ensure they are in good health” before being deported.
The coalition stated that six of the passengers were French, including two journalists: Omar Faiad from Qatar’s Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi from the online media outlet Blast. Reporters Without Borders condemned their detention by the Israeli army.
Al Jazeera also condemned the Israeli raid on the boat and demanded the release of its reporter.
The Israeli human rights NGO Adalah, which has been mandated by the 12 passengers to defend them, said they were to be transferred to a detention center before deportation.
Among the group was also French-Palestinian left-wing Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France had “sent all messages” to Israel to ensure the protection of its six nationals and their safe return to France, condemning the humanitarian blockade on Gaza as a “scandal.”
On Monday evening, tens of thousands of people gathered across France at the call of leftist groups in support of the activists.
Turkey denounced the interception as a “vile attack” and a “blatant violation of international law.”
In 2010, an international flotilla carrying nearly 700 passengers from Turkey attempting to break the Gaza blockade was stopped by an Israeli military operation that resulted in the deaths of ten activists.
After reaching the Egyptian coast, the Madleen approached Gaza despite Israeli warnings against any attempt to “break the maritime blockade of Gaza,” which Israel says aims primarily to prevent arms transfers to Hamas.
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu accused Greta Thunberg and others of trying to stage a media provocation solely for publicity.
Israel faces strong international pressure to end the war. Its army’s daily bombings have devastated Gaza, where the population faces famine due to the siege and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, resulted in 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to AFP’s tally based on official data.
Of the 251 people kidnapped during the attack, 54 remain held in Gaza, including at least 32 who have died, according to Israeli authorities.
More than 54,880 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
