The Israeli military kidnapped the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen when it was 160 nautical miles away from Gaza.

According to the message shared by the group on the Telegram account, they hoped to reach Gaza later in the day when the boat was intercepted. The Madleen was operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which included Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament and a journalist. They departed from Sicily on June 1 carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.

The Israeli Ministry, in a statement on X formerly Twitter, said that the boat is safely making its way to the shores of Israel and the passengers will be returned to their home countries. FFC, in a statement, also confirmed that the Israeli soldiers kidnapped the activists. The video of the incident also started circulating on social media.

“We’ll stay mobilised until the last minute — until Israel cuts the internet and networks,” European parliament member Rima Hassan told AFP from the boat. “There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid.”

Hassan voiced concern over the lack of official response from countries whose citizens are part of the crew.

“No state has responded. The message being sent is that Israel is being allowed to act with impunity, without any guarantee of protection for us,” she added.