Israel vows to prevent aid ships carrying Greta Thunberg and other militants to Gaza – Country
The Israeli government vowed on Sunday to prevent aid ships carrying Greta Thunberg and other militants from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Katz said Israel would not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Palestinian territory, which he said was to prevent Hamas from importing weapons.
“For anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists, I will clearly say: You should look back because you won’t get it to Gaza,” he said in a statement.
Climate activist Thunberg is one of 12 radicals on Madleen, which is run by the Alliance of Free Fleets. The ship left Sicily on a mission to break the Gaza blockade and provide humanitarian assistance while raising awareness of the growing humanitarian crisis in 20 months in the Israel-Hamas war.
Activists have said they plan to arrive in Gaza’s territory on Sunday.
Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board, posted a video on social media on Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be blocking their tracking and communication equipment, about 160 nautical miles from Gaza.
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Rima Hassan, the French MP of the European Parliament, is the European Parliament of Palestinian descent and is also someone else. She was banned from entering Israel due to opposition to Israel’s policies against the Palestinians.
Israel began providing some basic aid to Gaza last month after a 2 1/2 month total lockdown aimed at putting pressure on Hamas, but humanitarian workers warned that Israel would end its military offensive unless the lockdown was lifted.
Free Flotilla attempted last month when another ship of the group was attacked by two drones while another ship of the group attacked international waters in Malta. The team accused Israel of attacking the attack, which damaged the front of the ship.
Israel and Egypt have brought varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics say this amounts to a collective punishment of about 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.
In the early days of the war, Israel blocked all aid from Gaza, which was ignited on October 7, 2023, but was later endured under pressure from the United States. In early March, shortly before the end of the ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.
In the October 7 attack, militants led by Hamas killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapped 251 hostages, more than half of which have been released in a ceasefire agreement or other transactions. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half of which are believed to be dead.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s military campaign killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, which says women and children account for the majority of the dead. It did not say whether the person killed was a civilian or a combatant.
The war destroyed a vast area of Gaza and displaced 90% of the region’s population, making the people there almost entirely depend on international aid.
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