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…Activists to be sent home
A group of ships reportedly intercepted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla named ‘Madleen’, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said on Twitter.
Albanese said that she could hear the activists speaking with what she believed were IDF soldiers during the flotilla’s online livestream.
The IDF has not commented on any operations at this time.
Israel will take control of the Gaza flotilla, bring the pro-Palestinian activists into Israeli territory, and send them back abroad within a few hours, an Israeli official said Sunday.
Israel takes control of boat
https://twitter.com/kyg_best/status/1931889455109177553
The activist boat headed for Gaza, Madleen, is being towed by the Israeli Navy to Israel after troops boarded the vessel a short while ago, Israel confirms.
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
“All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the boat, says contact has been lost. On Telegram, it publishes a series of pre-recorded videos of those aboard asking for help from their home countries.
The ministry says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the others aboard Madleen “attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity.”
The boat was carrying “less than a single truckload of aid,” it says, noting that “more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza.”
“There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies. The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” the ministry adds.
The Israeli military has not commented on the incident, instead referring reporters to the ministry’s announcement.
The “selfie yacht” of the “celebrities” is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.
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