ISRAELI military have reportedly boarded Greta Thunberg’s Gaza-bound flotilla after being circled by a war vessel.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said army personnel jumped onboard and “illegally intercepted” their journey to war-torn Palestine.
ReutersGreta Thunberg and a crew member flash victory signs from their ship[/caption]
XGreta and fellow activists on a ship on its way to Gaza[/caption]
Several vessels of the Gaza aid flotilla have been stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate campaigner, and her friends are “safe and healthy,” the foreign ministry said in a post on X.
The message was posted alongside a video that appeared to show Greta and several masked and armed Israeli military personnel.
It comes just hours after dozens of boats in the flotilla announced a state of emergency as it readied itself for an interception.
The statement said: “High alert. Our vessels are being illegally intercepted.
“Cameras are offline and vessels have been boarded by military personnel. We are actively working to confirm the safety and status of all participants on board.”
Over 500 activists are onboard around 45 boats carrying aid to Gaza.
The convoy have been travelling through the Mediterranean Sea for over a month as they attempt to break Israel’s blockage of the region.
The last time activists tried to reach Gaza they were arrested and detained in Israeli prison.
Israel condemned the flotilla as a “PR stunt” adding it’s intention was “only provocation”.
In a post on X, its ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said: “We will not allow any PR stunt approaching an active war zone to violate our sovereignty.
“Those who tried to enter Israeli territory illegally will be deported immediately after Yom Kippur in Israel. Israel has repeatedly offered ways to peacefully deliver aid to Gaza, but this flotilla is not interested in aid – only provocation.”
Responding to Israel’s unfounded claims, Thiago Avila, one of the activists onboard said: “We are a peaceful, nonviolent humanitarian mission.
“Our journey is legal under international law, and any attempt to obstruct us is not.
“We carry food, aid, water filters, crutches, baby formula, to people you have been starving to death.”
It comes as the UN confirmed Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023, with the “intent to destroy the Palestinians”.
An IPC report said: “If a ceasefire is not implemented to allow humanitarian aid to reach everyone in the Gaza Strip, and if essential food supplies and basic health, nutrition and [sanitation and water] services are not restored immediately, avoidable deaths will increase exponentially.”
The war in Gaza has killed more than 64,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.