IOF Attack, Seize Gaza-Bound Humanitarian Aid Vessel Madleen

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” occupation forces have attacked a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza as the vessel approached the coastal waters of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen ship, said in a social media post on Monday morning that they were surrounded by “Israeli” army ships.

He added that the occupation forces have attacked Madleen, a humanitarian aid vessel that was attempting to break “Israel’s” naval blockade of Gaza.

"Connection has been lost on the 'Madleen'. The ‘Israeli’ army has boarded the vessel," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted on Telegram, adding that “Israeli” forces kidnapped the passengers.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 international campaigners aboard the Madleen. “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent, are also onboard the vessel.

Rima Hassan broadcast images of the sirens sounding on the ship.

Mahmud Abu-Odeh, a Germany-based press officer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, told AFP that "the activists seemed to be arrested."

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, five “Israeli” speedboats have reached the Madleen ship.

Francesca Albanese said the Madeleine crew has informed “Israeli” forces that they are carrying humanitarian aid and that they will leave safely.

“I heard the soldiers speaking while the captain was on the phone with me,” Albanese said.

“I lost connection with the captain as he was telling me that ‘another boat is approaching’.”

The new development came after Hamas warned the “Israeli” regime against taking any measure to stop the Madleen ship, holding the entity fully responsible for the lives of activists aboard it.

Earlier, the “Israeli” foreign minister, Israel Katz, threatened to block the aid ship from reaching Gaza, accusing Thunberg and fellow activists of being “Hamas propagandists.”

He had instructed the forces to take action "by land, sea, and air" to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] condemned “Israel's” seizure of the Freedom Flotilla ship and its crew.

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal ‘Israeli’ attack on the Madleen’s as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

“This is a blatant act of international piracy and state terrorism,” he said.

“The ‘Israeli’ occupation has no legal right to blockade the Gaza coast, much less to drop chemical weapons on humanitarian aid boats and abduct their passengers in international waters,” Awad added.

Awad called on the “Israeli” entity to immediately release the ship’s crew.

“We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza,” he said.

The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail from Sicily last week carrying urgent humanitarian supplies for Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, desalination kits, medical aid, and children’s prosthetics.