In the early hours of Monday, high drama unfolded off the coast of Egypt as Israeli naval forces intercepted and detained the crew of the Madleen, a vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla. The ship, surrounded around 2 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. IST) in Egyptian waters near Port Said, was attempting to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza to deliver critical supplies including flour, baby formula, and crutches.
Among the 12 international activists on board were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rima Hassan. The vessel was reportedly boarded under the cover of darkness after five Israeli speedboats surrounded it and drones hovered overhead. Israeli forces ordered the ship to turn back, boarded it forcibly, detained all individuals on board, and confiscated their mobile phones, effectively cutting off all communication.
According to Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, the interception happened in international waters. Rima Hassan confirmed the detentions via a post on X, stating: “The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.”
The Israeli foreign ministry later downplayed the incident in a series of posts on X, referring to the Madleen as a “selfie yacht” carrying “celebrities,” and mocked the mission as a mere “media provocation.” The ministry claimed the vessel carried “less than a single truckload” of aid and emphasized that real humanitarian efforts were ongoing, noting that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had distributed nearly 11 million meals.
“All passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water… the show is over,” the ministry posted. It also shared a photograph of Thunberg, smiling, with the caption that she was “currently on her way to Israel, safe and in good spirits.”
Prior to being detained, activists aboard the Madleen had reported that Israeli forces used drones to spray the ship with a white, chemical-like substance and were jamming communications while playing disturbing sounds over the radio. Hay Sha Wiya, press officer for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, confirmed the ship was “under assault” and struggling to maintain contact.
The incident has sparked fresh global attention on the Gaza blockade and the treatment of humanitarian missions in the region.
