The boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists seeking to bring symbolic aid to Gaza has arrived at an Israeli port, after its forces intercepted the flotilla.
Adalah, a legal rights group representing the activists, said at 10pm local time they had received confirmation that the group were being held at Ashdod port, just south of Tel Aviv, and were undergoing processing before being handed over to Israeli immigration authorities.
Demanding access to the passengers of the British-flagged yacht Madleen – which had sought to break the naval blockade on Gaza – Adalah said: “Unless they agree to leave immediately, they will be transferred to the detention facility in Ramleh.
“While authorities have indicated that those who consent to deportation may be allowed to fly out from Tel Aviv tonight, it’s unclear what conditions – such as signing documents or waiving rights – may be imposed.”
Earlier, organisers of the “Freedom Flotilla”, said there had been no contact with the 12 international activists for nearly 19 hours after the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters at around 2am on Monday.
Warning that the activists had been “forcibly abducted” while sailing peacefully under international law, organiser Huwaida Arraf told Al Jazeera that Israel “has no authority” to maintain its blockade on Gaza, and criticised the UK government for failing to issue a strong condemnation of the UK-flagged vessel’s seizure.
Downing Street on Monday afternoon urged Israel to act “safely with restraint, in line with international humanitarian law”, and described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “appalling and intolerable”.
A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign launched after Hamas’s attacks on 7 October 2023 killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, with 251 others taken hostage.
The flotilla, which is the latest in a long line of activist attempts to break the blockade of Gaza, sought to raise international awareness of the crisis in Gaza and deliver a small amount of aid, including rice and baby formula.
During a previous Freedom Flotilla in May 2010, nine people were killed after Israeli commandos opened fire on activists after boarding the flagship vessel 90 miles from Gaza. Just last month, two drones hit another vessel destined for Gaza while it was off the coast of Malta.
In a video filmed before the Madleen was captured, released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Ms Thunberg, 22, said: “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel.
“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”
However, speaking outside the Swedish parliament on Monday, foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said she did not believe Ms Thunberg was in need of support from Stockholm, adding: “A great responsibility rests on those who choose to travel contrary to the advice.”
Speaking as protestors gathered in Stockholm to demand action, Ms Stenergard condemned a “dangerous” campaign to flood her ministry with calls, adding: “The consequence is that Swedes in need abroad have to wait in line for far too long.”
