The Israeli military has intercepted the Madeline, a vessel from the Freedom Flotilla, as it sailed towards the Gaza Strip, detaining all 12 international activists aboard. The ship was stopped just kilometres off the coast of Gaza.
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Israeli forces cut communications before boarding the ship and detaining those onboard, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, and Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament.
The Madeline, which departed Italy in early June, carried a symbolic but limited quantity of humanitarian aid. Its voyage aimed to challenge the blockade imposed on Gaza for over 17 years—an enclave where rights groups have described the ongoing conflict since October 2023 as amounting to genocide.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry condemned the interception as a “blatant violation of international law,” accusing Israel of once again demonstrating it is a “terror state” and a threat to maritime security. The International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza called for urgent international action to secure the activists’ release and pressed for more solidarity missions.
Hamas condemned the seizure as “an act of piracy” against civilians on a humanitarian mission, branding it “state terrorism” and a flagrant breach of international law.
Israel Hayom, a right-leaning Israeli daily, reported that authorities prepared individual cells in Giv’on Prison in Ramla for the detained activists. Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, reportedly ordered a ban on communication devices, radios, and televisions in the facility, along with a prohibition on Palestinian symbols.
Israeli civil rights group Adalah has demanded the immediate disclosure of the activists’ locations and access to legal counsel, calling the detentions unlawful.
The interception coincides with worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The Health Ministry has warned that major hospitals—including Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the Arab National Hospital—are on the brink of shutting down due to critical fuel shortages.
According to ministry figures, 80% of Gaza’s hospitals are now non-operational due to repeated Israeli airstrikes. Just 16 facilities remain partially functional, operating under extreme constraints.
Mohammed Abu Selmiya, Director of Al-Shifa, said the hospital is just hours away from a full shutdown, with surgeries, intensive care, dialysis, and emergency services at risk. The ministry added that the Israeli blockade continues to prevent the entry of essential fuel and medical supplies.
Israeli airstrikes intensified across the Strip over the weekend, particularly in eastern Gaza City neighbourhoods such as Shujaiya, which witnessed some of the heaviest fighting in recent weeks.
Israeli media acknowledged casualties among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed to have captured an Israeli Evo Max drone in eastern Jabalia, allegedly carrying valuable intelligence.
Controversy also surrounds the airdrops and food distributions coordinated by Israeli and American forces. Palestinian media reported that eight civilians were killed near a distribution site in Rafah. Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat recorded 31 injuries caused by munitions fired from drones in areas where civilians had gathered for aid near the Netzarim checkpoint.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that, since 27 May, 127 civilians have been killed and over 1,287 injured in what it described as “aid ambushes.” Today alone, six were killed and 99 wounded. The Government Media Office in Gaza accused the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”—an entity allegedly run by Israeli and American officers—of being a military front complicit in the ongoing assault.
According to the latest Health Ministry statistics, the death toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023 has reached 54,927, with 126,615 wounded. In the past 24 hours alone, 47 people were killed and 388 injured. Since the latest phase of the war began on 18 March 2025, there have been 4,649 additional fatalities and 14,574 injuries.
The fate of the detained activists aboard the Madeline remains unclear amid mounting international calls for their release. Meanwhile, Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe deepens, and Israeli military operations continue to expand across the besieged territory.
