SHAH ALAM – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had in a video on social media said she and other pro-Palestinian activists on board the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's (FFC) yacht, the Madleen en-route to Gaza have been kidnapped by the Israeli forces.
In a pre-recorded video appealing for international help, Thunberg confirmed that the vessel had been boarded and its crew detained.
"My name is Greta Thunberg and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupation forces or forces that support Israel.
"I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible," she said in a video posted on FFC's Instagram account on Monday.
FFC said the Israeli forces had unlawfully boarded the ship, detained its unarmed crew and confiscated the cargo.
In a post of a video of the incident, FFC wrote that Thunberg was an unarmed civilian on a vessel carrying humanitarian cargo, including baby formula, medical supplies and other life-saving aid for the beseiged population of Gaza.
It said Thunberg and the other members of Freedom Flotilla posed no threat and was operating in full accordance with the international maritime and human rights law.
"The Madleen is currently under assault in international waters. Quadcopters are surrounding the ship, spraying it with a white paint-like substance.
"Communications are jammed and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio.
"The drones are right beside them at this moment," FFC wrote in the caption of a video it posted of the incident.
It reported that the vessel was attacked at approximately 3.02am CET.
Thunberg was among 12 international volunteers aboard the Madleen, which was intercepted early Monday morning in international waters as it attempted to deliver aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Madleen, part of FFC, departed from Catania in Sicily, southern Italy, on June 1 carrying essential humanitarian cargo including food, baby formula and medical supplies.
The mission aimed to challenge Israel’s long standing naval blockade of Gaza, in place since 2007.
Meanwhile, it was reported that 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 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 wrote on social media.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz was reported saying that he had ordered the military to prevent the vessel from reaching Gaza.
"I have instructed the IDF to ensure that the Madleen Flotilla does not reach Gaza," he said.
Freedom Flotilla organiser and human rights lawyer Huwaida Arraf condemned the seizure, calling it a clear violation of international law and a defiance of the International Court of Justice’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
These volunteers, she said were not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and could not be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade. She added that their detention was arbitrary, unlawful and must end immediately.
Formed after the deadly 2010 flotilla raid, FFC is a global grassroots movement advocating for direct humanitarian access to Gaza.
Its maritime missions are grounded in principles of non-violence and international solidarity.
The 2025 voyage of the Madleen was part of its ongoing efforts to protest what it described as Israel’s "unlawful blockade" and to provide urgent aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.