What happens next to the Gaza flotilla’s Madleen and its crew?

The Madleen was stopped by Israel connected its mode to Gaza. What happens to Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan and the different activists now?

Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen assistance vessel successful the aboriginal hours of Monday greeting arsenic it approached the shores of Gaza successful an effort to administer severely needed assistance to the Palestinian enclave’s starving population.

The vessel has drawn planetary media attraction since it acceptable sail from Catania, Italy, astir a week ago. As it neared the shores of Gaza, speculation was rife astir however the Israelis would respond, considering their past actions successful attacking assistance ships sailing to supply supplies to the Strip.

Israel has killed astatine slightest 54,880 Palestinians and wounded 126,227 since its latest warfare connected Gaza began connected October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Here’s what you request to cognize astir the Madleen, its unit and what happens next:

What happened?

Israeli drones encircled the Madleen, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition astatine astir 3am section clip (01:00 GMT). The drones began spraying it with a white, paint-like substance earlier the commandos yet took clasp of the ship. The quality of the sprayed substance remains unclear.

The Israeli soldiers ordered the 12 radical connected board, including Swedish clime activistic Greta Thunberg, to propulsion their phones overboard. They past filmed a video, handing the unit members sandwiches and h2o bottles, and wrote connected X that the “selfie yacht” had been stopped.

The vessel was carrying humanitarian assistance to Palestinians starving successful Gaza due to the fact that of the strict siege enacted since March 2. The siege was lifted partially past month, but the assistance organisation has since been calamitous, arsenic Israeli soldiers person changeable astatine Palestinians successful enactment for the constricted rations being distributed, with assistance inactive not reaching a bulk of radical successful Gaza.

Where was the Madleen intercepted?

The vessel was astir 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza erstwhile it was stopped by Israeli commandos.

It was successful planetary waters astatine the time. Israel’s blockade of Gaza is deemed amerciable by astir planetary governments. Under planetary law, countries and their militaries clasp sovereign rights implicit their territorial waters only, not planetary waters.

Who was connected the ship?

There were 12 radical connected board, the astir high-profile included Sweden’s Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a subordinate of the European Parliament from France.

The others are:

• Yasemin Acar – Germany
• Baptiste Andre – France
• Thiago Avila – Brazil
• Omar Faiad – France; Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent
• Pascal Maurieras – France
• Yanis Mhamdi – France
• Suayb Ordu – Turkiye
• Sergio Toribio – Spain
• Marco van Rennes – The Netherlands
• Reva Viard – France

Where is everyone now?

Israeli media reported that the Madleen and its unit members were being taken to the larboard metropolis of Ashdod. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said connected X that it expected them to instrumentality to their location countries and utilized the accidental to poke amusive astatine Thunberg.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said helium had instructed the subject to surface a propaganda movie made up of footage from the Hamas-led October 7 attacks to the unit of the Madleen.

“Antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-supporting friends should spot precisely what the Hamas violent organisation – which they came to enactment and enactment connected behalf of – genuinely is,” Katz wrote connected X.

A radical of Israeli and overseas activists gathered astatine Ashdod port, wherever the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s vessel Madleen was expected to dock successful Israel connected June 9, 2025 [Samir Abdalhade/Anadolu]

Have immoderate different governments said anything?

Yes, a few.

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli complaint d’affaires successful Madrid, Dan Poraz, implicit the interception of the Madleen, according to Israeli media.

Turkiye condemned Israel’s refusal to let the vessel to dock successful Gaza. It called Israeli actions “a wide usurpation of planetary law”.

“This heinous enactment by the Netanyahu government, which threatens the state of navigation and maritime security, erstwhile again demonstrates that Israel is acting arsenic a panic state,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said successful a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There was nary contiguous effect from the governments of Brazil, Germany, France oregon the Netherlands – the different countries with citizens connected committee the Madleen.

French lawmakers from the Leftist France Unbowed (LFI) enactment called Israel’s interception of the vessel a “clear usurpation of planetary law”.