Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, which had tried to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip yesterday.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, had aimed to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
“If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel,” Thunberg, 22, said in a video released by the FCC, filmed before the vessel was captured.
“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.”
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed that the vessel was under Israeli control. Israel has dismissed the aid ship as a stunt.
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on X. All passengers were safe and unharmed, it later added: “They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who was also on board, posted on X that the crew had been ‘arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am.”
A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
Israel’s foreign ministry later distributed a photo showing Thunberg in a green hat and orange life vest, smiling while a soldier held out a sandwich.
The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The foreign ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
The Swedish foreign ministry said it was in contact with Israeli authorities.
“Should the need for consular support arise, the embassy and the ministry of foreign affairs will assess how we can best help the Swedish citizen/Greta Thunberg resolve her situation,” a Swedish foreign ministry spokesperson said in a written statement to Reuters.
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