The organisers of a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship carrying activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg said Israeli forces boarded the vessel this afternoon.
“Connection has been lost on the ‘Madleen’. Israeli Army have boarded the vessel,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted on Telegram, referring to the ship.
AFP lost contact with the activists on board.
Israel had vowed to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Navy had directed the boat to change course as it approached “a restricted area”.
About an hour later, it said the boat was being towed to Israeli shores.
“The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry wrote on social media.
“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 added.
-Agence France-Presse
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