Climate activist Greta Samberg sails to help Gaza
“We have to keep trying.” Climate activist Greta Samberg set sail to provide assistance to Gaza a few weeks after a similar mission was thwarted by a bomb.
JERUSALEM, June 9 (Reuters) – Israeli forces command a charity ship that attempted to destroy the Gaza Strip and naval blockade of boats, with 12 crew members heading to Israeli ports, including activist Greta Samberg, officials said.
The British fleeting yacht Mudleen, run by the Pro-Palestinian Fluid Coalition of Freedom (FFC), aimed to provide Gaza with a symbolic amount of aid later on Monday, raising international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was on board the night before it reached the coast, the FFC said in its telegram account. Israel’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control.
“The ‘celebrity’ selfie yacht’ is safely heading towards the Israeli coast. Passengers are expected to return to their home country,” the ministry writes about X.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added. “They were offered sandwiches and water. The show is over.”
Among the 12 powerful crews are Swedish climate activist Samberg and Lima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
“The Freedom Frida crew was arrested by Israeli forces in international waters around 2am,” Hassan posted on X.
Yachts carry small cargoes of humanitarian assistance, including rice and baby formulas. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would be taken to Gaza. “A small amount of aid on a yacht and not consumed by ‘celebrity’ will be transferred to Gaza through actual humanitarian channels,” he wrote.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the troops on Sunday to prevent Madrien from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort to support Hamas.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on coastal enclaves after Hamas ruled Gaza in 2007.
According to Israeli tallies, the blockade remains through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israeli military elections. The UN warns that most of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents face hunger.
The Israeli government says blockade is essential to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestinian Territories, supported the FFC operation and urged other boats on Sunday to challenge Gaza’s lockdown.
“Madreen’s journey may be over, but the mission is not over. All Mediterranean ports must send boats with aid and solidarity to Gaza,” she wrote to X.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, Yomna Ehab, and Enas Alashray, edited by Richard Chang and Lincoln Feast.)
