The crew of activists who made a symbolic attempt to transport aid will likely be detained in port pending a deportation hearing. The boat, which was seized by the Israeli army in an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza, has been towed to an Israeli port. The crew of activists, including Greta Thunberg, will likely be detained in the port pending a deportation hearing, said The Guardian.
The Madleen attempted to deliver a symbolic aid shipment to Gaza, which is facing the threat of famine after more than 11 weeks of a total blockade and severe restrictions on food imports.
In recent days, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians and injured hundreds more as they tried to reach the few locations where the US- and Israeli-backed logistics organisation distributes limited supplies.
Thunberg and 11 other crew members of the Madleen, including French MEP Rima Hassan and Al Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad, have been incommunicado since early Monday when Israeli forces took control of the ship.
A legal adviser to the Israeli navy told Adalah, the organisation representing the detainees: "To our knowledge, none of them are injured or require medical attention at this time."
On arrival in Ashdod, they were to be handed over to police custody and "to submit to a hearing before deportation orders are issued," Adalah quoted him as saying.
While the Israeli authorities were not expected to allow the small yacht to approach Gaza, the very attempt to reach the area by boat is risky.
In May, another ship sailing as part of the Freedom Flotilla coalition that organized the Madleen's voyage caught fire off Malta and sounded a distress signal after what the group said was an Israeli drone attack. The Israeli military has not commented.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine activists in a raid on a small group of boats trying to bring supplies, including building materials, to Gaza. Israel began blockading Gaza in 2007.
Among the last messages from the Madleen before she lost contact was a photograph of 12 crew members gathered in a circle, wearing life jackets, with their hands above their heads. Subsequently, a series of pre-recorded messages from crew members were posted online.
The British-flagged Madleen set sail at a time of growing international pressure on Israel over the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.
Responding to the huge publicity the group has generated, the Israeli Foreign Ministry described the crew as "celebrities" on a "selfie yacht" when it announced the seizure of the boat. Shortly afterwards, it released a picture of Thunberg being offered food and others being served food and water.
In a post on the X network, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said they will have to watch a film about the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the war. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attacks and 250 were taken to Gaza, where 55 are still being held hostage.
Israeli bombing and ground attacks in Gaza have since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women, children and the elderly, and injured more than 125,000, according to health authorities in the area, whose figures have proved accurate in past conflicts.
Huwaida Arrafa human rights lawyer and Freedom Flotilla organizer, said Israel had no legal authority to detain the crew of the Madleen in international waters and seize the humanitarian aid on board, which included food, baby food and medical supplies.
"This seizure clearly violates international law and defies binding ICJ orders demanding unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza. These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging the illegal blockade - their detention is arbitrary, illegal and must end immediately."
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has called on the UK to secure the release of the Madleen and its crew and urged others to challenge the blockade.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes and have been displaced several times since the war began. Last month, food security experts warned that the territory was at "critical risk of famine".
Israel claims that food is reaching Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secret group whose current head is an evangelical Christian with no experience in providing aid in conflict zones.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, in posts about the seizure of the Madleen, said that "almost" 11 million food rations had been delivered in the past two weeks. Even if these supplies were evenly distributed, this would mean less than one meal every two days for Gaza's starving population.
The Guardian/gnews.cz - cik
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