Israeli forces intercept Gaza-bound aid boat with activist Greta Thunberg on board

Israeli forces have boarded a charity vessel attempting to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said early Monday.

Israel intercepted a vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists Monday that was attempting to break its naval blockade to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the British-flagged yacht Madleen was “safely making its way to the shores of Israel” after being boarded by its forces.

"The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the ministry said in a post on X.

The vessel, which was carrying a symbolic shipment of humanitarian aid, departed Sicily earlier this month in an effort to reach Gaza, where Israel’s 11-week aid blockade has heightened fears of starvation.

Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which the Israeli military intercepted Monday.Freedom Flotilla Coalition / ReutersThunberg, a climate activist, said the mission was vital in the face of global silence on what she called a “live-streamed genocide.”