The activist ship en route to Gaza with emergency aid has lost contact with the outside world. Israel repeatedly demanded that the ship Madleen, with climate activist Greta Thunberg on board, change course. Israel now appears to have intercepted the ship.
The ship has been en route from Sicily to Gaza for several days. In addition to Thunberg, the Dutch captain Mark Rennes, actor Liam Cunningham (known from Game of Thrones) and the French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan are on board. The ship has relief supplies on board to bring to Gaza.
Israel has indicated several times in recent days that the ship would not be welcome. And on Sunday evening, Israeli Defense Minister Katz ordered the army to prevent the ship from sailing to Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the organization behind the ship, announced early Monday morning that contact with the ship had been lost. And Israeli soldiers are said to have boarded the ship, according to the organization. The organization also shares a photo showing part of the crew sitting with their hands up. No Israeli soldiers can be seen on it.
That the ship would have been boarded has not yet been confirmed from the Israeli side. However, according to news agency Reuters, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced around 3 a.m. Dutch time that “the ship is sailing safely towards the coast of Israel and that the passengers will return to their homeland.”
Before the ship was allegedly boarded, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, there were all kinds of boats and drones around the ship. According to the crew, drones would spray an irritating liquid on the ship. The radar was also reportedly disrupted for some time, according to the crew.