Israel has come under fire for seizing the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s (FFC) sailing boat Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship, named Barcarole, after it entered Palestinian waters on the night of Monday, June 9th. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has taken all 12 activists onboard Madleen hostage at gunpoint, and shared the visuals with the world while the Israeli government called the boat carrying crucial humanitarian aid for the besieged people of Gaza a “selfie yacht”.
Freedom Flotilla condemns attack on Madleen
“The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) confirms that its civilian ship, Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military at 3:02 am CET in international waters at 31.95236° N, 32.38880° E. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated (sic),” the FFC said in a statement.
“Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen,” said Huwaida Arraf, human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organiser.
The FFC stated, “Israel is once again acting with total impunity. It has defied the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) binding orders to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, disregarded the international laws protecting civilian navigation, and dismissed the demands of millions worldwide calling for an end to the siege and genocide.”
“This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade—their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately,” Ms Arraf added.
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned that the boat should turn away before entering Palestinian waters.
“To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza,” Mr Katz had written on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations – at sea, in the air, and on land,” he further stated in the Hebrew tweet.
The activists had ignored the threat and continued on their journey from Egypt’s Alexandria port on Sunday when they were intercepted by Israeli drones that sprayed chemical on the boat, and then masked IDF gunmen took them hostage.
On May 2nd, Israeli drones attacked the Freedom Flotilla ship Conscience, which also had 12 activists aboard, 26 km from the Maltese coast.
The incident had drawn widespread condemnation, prompting several other activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, to undertake the new journey towards besieged Gaza from Italy.
Highlighting the incident, the FFC said, “This latest act of aggression against the FFC follows the unpunished Israeli drone attack on our previous vessel, Conscience, which left four civilian volunteers injured and the ship disabled and burning in European waters. That unprovoked assault violated international law. Now, Israel has escalated again by targeting another peaceful civilian vessel.”
While there were speculations of Israeli attacks on the boat, Tel Aviv refrained from using brute force to avoid international wrath, as the Madleen’s journey was tracked globally.
“The world’s governments remained silent when Conscience was bombed. Now Israel is testing that silence again,” said Tan Safi, another FFC member.
“Every hour without consequences emboldens Israel to escalate its attacks on civilians, aid workers, and the very foundations of international law,” the member highlighted.
Condemning the incident, the Palestinian resistance called it an act of piracy by the Israeli forces.
Palestinian resistance condemns piracy
From the left-wing nationalists to the Islamists, the Palestinian resistance condemned the interception as an act of piracy in one voice and hailed the activists.
In a statement issued on Monday, June 9th, the left-wing resistance organisation Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the “occupation’s piracy of the ‘Madleen’ ship is a war crime”.
“The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemns in the strongest terms the occupation’s piracy of the ‘Madleen’ ship, which was heading to break the siege on Gaza. It considers it a new crime that adds to its dark record of targeting international solidarity activists and unarmed civilians,” the PFLP said in its statement.
“The Front holds the occupation fully responsible for their safety and calls for their immediate release, as well as for a broad popular and international movement to confront this rampage, through escalating solidarity and supporting free initiatives that break the siege,” the Marxist-Leninist organisation said.
It highlighted that Israel is even scared of unarmed international activists carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, who are suffering immense hardships and starvation due to Tel Aviv’s blockade of the Strip.
“The interception of a humanitarian ship carrying unarmed international activists and solidarity activists is a cowardly and despicable act that reflects the occupation’s failure to break Gaza’s isolation or silence the voices of freedom. It confirms that the ongoing siege is a war crime committed in full view of the world,” the PFLP further stated.
The left-wing resistance organisation, which is labelled as a terror outfit by Israel and the US, commended the courage displayed by the activists, who are mocked by the Israeli state and media.
“The Front salutes the courage of the international activists on board the ship, their determination to defy the occupation’s threats, and their continued activism to break the blockade, affirming that the voice of solidarity cannot be confiscated,” it highlighted.
“This piracy will not intimidate free people; rather, it will once again expose the nature of this entity based on terrorism and genocide, and ignite the international solidarity movement. It calls for the broadest boycott and legal prosecution campaigns, the organisation of new maritime and land movements, and increased pressure on complicit or silent governments,” the PFLP stressed at a time when Yemen has enforced a naval blockade on Israel’s crucial Haifa port.
The PFLP has called upon the international supporters of Gaza to organise more such campaigns to reach the besieged territory, which has been turned into a heap of rubble by Israel.
“The Front also renews its call for the launch of freedom flotillas and convoys from all over the world, in support of Gaza and to break this unjust blockade. It affirms that the Palestinian cause remains alive in the conscience of free people,” the PFLP appealed.
“The occupation has accumulated a dark record of piracy, kidnapping, and targeting of solidarity activists. It must be confronted with decisive international action and a global popular movement that will put an end to this bloody entity hostile to peoples and to all values of justice, freedom, and humanity,” the statement said in conclusion.
Meanwhile, Hamas also called the interception of the Madleen an “act of piracy and state terrorism”.
Hamas praised these international volunteers for their courage and solidarity, asserting that Gaza is not alone and continues to be supported by the global conscience.
Hamas’s statement emphasised that the FFC’s Madleen and other solidarity efforts from countries like Algeria, Tunisia, and Jordan reflect the growing failure of Israeli propaganda and the strength of international support for Gaza.
The Islamic resistance demanded the immediate release of the detained activists, urged the UN and international bodies to act, and reaffirmed that the blockade on Gaza is a crime that must be confronted.
Similarly, the Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ) in Palestine condemned the attack on the Madleen, calling it “an act of international piracy and abduction, and a clear violation of international law”.
The PIJ expressed full solidarity with the detained activists, praising their courage and humanitarian motives in confronting what it described as one of the most criminal armies in modern history.
Their statement criticised the global silence in the face of what it called genocide and starvation in Gaza, and held Israel—along with international governments and institutions—fully responsible for “the activists’ safety, their release, and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza”.
The Resistance Committees in Palestine condemned the seizure of the Madleen ship. They criticised Israel’s brutal actions and highlighted American complicity in these crimes.
They also praised the detained activists for their courage and called on all free people worldwide to stand up against the injustice and expose the ongoing crimes in Gaza.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement (PMM) held Israel fully responsible for the safety of the detained activists, praising them for risking their lives in pursuit of humanitarian values.
The PMM characterised the incident as proof of IDF’s aggressive and criminal nature, framing it as a threat not only to Palestinians but “to global peace and human conscience”.
The PMM also calls on the international community to end its silence and act to protect the detained activists.
Finally, the movement urges continued international solidarity through protests and convoys to Gaza.
The Palestinian Ahrar Movement denounced the seizure of the Madleen as an act of “Nazi-like piracy against international activists who embody the conscience of humanity”.
It held both the Israeli forces and the US administration fully responsible for the activists’ safety, and called for their immediate release.
The group praised the courage of those aboard and warned that the zionist entity poses a threat not only to Palestinians but to all people of conscience.
The Ahrar Movement urged the launch of more solidarity ships and called on rights groups to condemn the attack and fulfil their responsibilities in confronting war crimes.
‘Land Convoy of Steadfastness to the Rafah Border’
While Israel abducted the activists onboard the Madleen, several other activists across the world have started preparing for a major attempt to break the siege on Gaza by organising a march—Land Convoy of Steadfastness to the Rafah border—on June 12th from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border.
Activists from various countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America have started reaching Egypt to participate in the march.
Following the piracy on Madleen, the FFC has raised several demands, including an “end to the illegal and deadly siege of Gaza”, the “immediate release of all abducted volunteers”, “immediate delivery of humanitarian aid directly to Palestinians that is independent of the control of the occupying power” and a full “accountability for the military assaults on Madleen and Conscience”.
While the international condemnations arise, it’s to be seen how long Israel can forcibly keep the 12 activists in its captivity.
