The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Greta Thunberg and fellow activists of attempting to ’stage a media provocation.’
Israel intercepted a boat heading for the Gaza Strip on Monday and detained Greta Thunberg along with other pro-Palestinian activists.
Activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition chartered the sailboat Madleen, loaded it with humanitarian supplies, and departed from the port of Catania, Italy, on June 1, bound for Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition wrote on social media platform X: “SOS! the volunteers on ‘Madleen’ have been kidnapped by Israeli forces.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a video on X of Thunberg and the other activists, wearing orange life belts, and wrote: “All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.”
All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over. pic.twitter.com/tLZZYcspJO
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
The flotilla coalition said in a statement that the Madleen had been “unlawfully boarded” in international waters, 120 miles from Gaza, around 3 a.m. local time, and the crew abducted.
It said the boat’s cargo of food, baby milk formula, and medical supplies had been confiscated.
In the statement, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s attorney, Huwaida Arraf, said Israel had no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen.
“This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza,” Arraf said, referring to the International Court of Justice. “These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade—their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately.”
The Israeli foreign ministry said, in another post on X: “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.”
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 Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included… pic.twitter.com/eEZSJJHVfd
Thunberg Accused of Publicity Stunt
The ministry accused Thunberg and the others of attempting to “stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity.”
The ministry said the boat contained less than a single truckload of aid, but said the goods on board would be transferred to Gaza through “humanitarian channels.”
It said 1,200 aid trucks had entered Gaza from Israel in the past two weeks and that the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had distributed almost 11 million meals to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip—they do not involve Instagram selfies,” the ministry said.
An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said the Madleen, carrying Thunberg and the others, was expected to arrive in the port of Ashdod later on Monday.
It is not clear whether it is being towed by an Israeli naval vessel or is moving by itself.
