‘Release the Madleen’: Outrage mounts as Israel seizes Gaza-bound aid ship, ‘abducts’ activists
In a world already reeling from months of unspeakable horror in Gaza, one boat — the Madleen — carried a flicker of defiant hope. That hope, too, has now been detained.
On Monday, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, a Gaza-bound humanitarian ship carrying aid and prominent international activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan. The ship, which departed from Sicily on June 1 under a British flag, was attempting to break Israel’s blockade and deliver baby formula and rice to starving Palestinians.
The vessel was intercepted, sparking an outpouring of grief, fury, and defiance online. On X and Instagram, netizens, artists, journalists, and human rights defenders condemned the seizure, calling it “unlawful, inhumane, and morally indefensible.”
Host Mehdi Hasan labelled the interception “a hijacking,” asserting that Israel had no legal right under international law to board or divert the Madleen. “This is hijacking,” he wrote, urging leaders like UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to respond.
Irish actor Liam Cunningham didn’t mince words either, calling it “reprehensible behaviour from the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.” He also called out British media outlet LBC for calling it Greta Thunberg’s “selfie yacht” stunt.
Former Al Jazeera journalist Sana Saeed described the ordeal as “audaciously cruel,” a sentiment echoed by Pakistani comedian Shafaat Ali who wrote, “It feels like all of humanity has collapsed into a few hundred people.”
Journalist Zebunnisa Burki praised those on board as “some of the bravest people in the world.”
The Instagram account of Rima Hassan’s team called the arrest a violation of international maritime law, stating, “The most moral army in the world stages its new violation of maritime and international law.” They reminded the world that the order had come from “a prime minister under an international arrest warrant.”
Among the most powerful calls for global resistance came from writer Fatima Bhutto, who urged mass mobilisation on X.
“There needs to be mass peoples mobilisation: thousands of Madleens every day, every hour,” she wrote on Instagram. “People are not governments — they are infinitely more powerful.”
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai called Israel’s move “an act of cowardice” in her Instagram story.
Activist Yasemin Acar, one of the passengers aboard the Madleen, has not been heard from since the seizure. Her team updated followers via Instagram, in fear for the safety and well-being of those detained.
The seizure has triggered strong criticism from global authorities as well. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, called for Madleen’s immediate release. “Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza,” she wrote. “They shall sail together — united, they will be unstoppable.”
In response, American presidential candidate Dr Jill Stein said: “May a thousand sails unfurl.”
In a statement on X, the Israel Foreign Ministry said that the vessel “is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries”.
Other social media users rallied behind Thunberg and the others on board, ranging from calls for solidarity to pointing out the hypocrisy of Israel’s use of the phrase ‘legal naval blockade’.
Since Israel’s aid blockade began on March 2 this year, deliberate withholding of food has caused a forced famine in Gaza, according to the World Health Organisation.
Amid international pressure, Israel allowed some aid to enter Gaza last month, but aid groups have warned the amounts are inadequate. Operations at the group’s aid distribution hubs were halted earlier this week following several incidents of deadly violence near the sites, in which Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers.
“Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth,” said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. “It’s the only defined area — a country or defined territory within a country — where you have the entire population at risk of famine. 100 per cent of the population at risk of famine,” he said, rejecting claims to the contrary by Israeli authorities.
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