'The Show Is Over': Israel Blocks Gaza Aid Ship Carrying Thunberg

Freedom Flotilla Coalition Criticizes "Kidnapping by Israeli Military"

The image of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish "environmental girl" who became famous in 2019 for her speeches opposing the climate crisis. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

A ship carrying humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip and carrying 12 international activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, was blocked by the Israeli military.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the international NGO Freedom Flotilla Coalition, at around 2:50 a.m. on the 8th (local time), the Israeli navy warned and then stopped the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's sailing vessel, the Maudlin, as it approached the waters near the Gaza Strip.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the voyage, reported that "the Maudlin is under attack in international waters," stating that the ship was surrounded by quadcopters (drones with four rotors) and that various communications were disrupted.

Photos released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition show Thunberg and others raising their hands in surrender as the Israeli military seized the Maudlin. The coalition criticized the Israeli military, accusing them of kidnapping the activists on board.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "The show is over," announcing that the sailing vessel Maudlin, which had departed for the Gaza Strip, was intercepted at sea.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the so-called "selfie yacht" carrying celebrities was being safely escorted to the Israeli coast and that the passengers would each be returned to their respective home countries.

The ministry emphasized that "the coastal waters of the Gaza Strip are legally blockaded under international law" and pointed out that "there are various ways to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, but taking selfies for Instagram is not one of them."

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that the amount of aid carried by the Maudlin was less than a single truckload and that it would be delivered to Gaza via existing routes. Photos and videos released by the ministry show Thunberg and other activists receiving bread and water from the Israeli military.

Additionally, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered that the 12 activists, including Thunberg, who were aboard the Maudlin, be taken to the port of Ashdod and shown footage of the October 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Minister Katz wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Greta, the anti-Semite, and her fellow Hamas supporters must know exactly what atrocities the Hamas terrorist organization committed against women, the elderly, and children, and whom Israel is fighting to protect."

According to the Times of Israel, the 43-minute video, produced by the Israeli military spokesperson's office, was filmed with Hamas fighters' body cameras and contains uncensored footage of killings and bodily harm.