With eleven other activists a week ago, Thunberg set sail from Sicily to bring relief goods such as baby food and medical goods to the Gaza Strip with Madleen. At the same time, they wanted to focus on international emergency in the densely populated coastal area with around two million inhabitants.
The alliance described Israel's stopping the sailing ship as a “blatant violation of international law”. The activists argue that Israel must guarantee unhindered humanitarian access to the coastal strip.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, said that the zone in front of the Gaza Strip was closed as part of the sea blockade that has been in force since 2007 for non -authorized ships. Therefore, the Madleen had been stopped. So far it is unclear when the activists reach the Israeli coast and be deported to their home countries. In the past in the past, the activists were deported directly via Ben Gurion International Airport near the Israeli coastal metropolis Tel Aviv.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he instructed the army to show the group video recordings of the atrocities of the Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. “It is appropriate that the anti-Semitin Greta and her friends see the Hamas supporters exactly who is the Hamas terrorist organization that they support and for whom they act,” said Katz.
