"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 the video.
The Israel foreign ministry has in their own post on X said the activists were "unharmed" and that they were "safely" making their way to Israel.
France among countries pushing for recognition of Palestinian statepublished at 05:42 British Summer Time
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Image source, Getty Images
As we mentioned earlier, among the 12-strong crew on board the Madleen was Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
France is one of the countries leading the call for recognition of a Palestinian state.
It will co-host a United Nations conference in New York later this month with Saudi Arabia aimed at taking steps to achieve a two-state solution, which proposes an independent Palestinian state to co-exist alongside Israel. This is something Israel rejects.
“We must urgently move from words to deeds. We must move from ending the war in Gaza to ending the conflict itself,” Anne-Claire Legendre, Middle East and North Africa advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron had said at a UN session earlier last month.
“Faced with the facts on the ground, the prospects of a Palestinian State must be maintained,” she added.
The Hamas run health ministry estimates around 54,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Palestinian government calls for protection of aid boat activistspublished at 05:31 British Summer Time
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The Palestinian foreign ministry, based in the West Bank, has called for the activists onboard the ship to be protected.
In a post on X, the ministry says it "salutes the international solidarity activists aboard the ship attempting to break the siege on the Gaza Strip", calling the operation "noble".
The Conscience: Gaza-bound FFC ship that ended up in flames last monthpublished at 05:25 British Summer Time
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Image source, Government of Malta/Reuters
Image caption,
A tug vessel puts out a fire on the Conscience
The intercepting of the Madleen today comes one month after the Conscience, another Gaza-bound ship run by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ended up on fire off the coast of Malta.
Activists said the ship had been struck by Israeli drones in international waters on 2 May. Israel said it was looking into the attack.
The NGO said that incident "left four civilian volunteers injured and the ship disabled and burning in European waters". The Maltese government said everyone aboard the ship was safe and the fire was brought under control.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg had been part of a group meant to board the ship during its journey to Gaza. She ended up on the Madleen, which set sail for Gaza last Friday.
“The world’s governments remained silent when Conscience was bombed. Now Israel is testing that silence again,” said Tan Safi, a Freedom Flotilla organizer.
'Actions are coming', say team for European MPpublished at 05:14 British Summer Time
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Image source, Getty Images
The team for Rima Hassan, a French Palestinian member of the European Parliament on board the Madleen, says the crew was "arrested by the Israeli army in international waters" at 02:00 local time (00:00 BST).
In an earlier interview from the boat, Hassan told AFP news agency: "We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid."
Moment activists say Israel intercepted their boatpublished at 05:01 British Summer Time
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Watch these initial moments after what activists on board the Madleen say was an Israeli interception of the vessel.
In the video, activist Yasemin Acar said "chemicals" had been dropped on the volunteers, adding that it was affecting her eyes.
Before the video ends, she can be heard saying Israeli military had "intercepted" the boat.
Media caption,
Watch: Moment activists say Israel intercepted their boat
What is the aid situation like in Gaza?published at 04:50 British Summer Time
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Image source, Getty Images
More than two million people in Gaza are at risk of starvation, according to a UN-backed assessment earlier this month.
Israel recently began to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month land blockade, prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US.
But the GHF been mired in controversy, after several deadly incidents took place during its first week of operation.
Dozens of Palestinians have died and hundreds injured trying to get to the distribution centre. Six were killed by Israeli gunfire, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said.
The GHF-run centre has more than once paused its operations to deal with overcrowding and safety concerns.
Who is Greta Thunberg?published at 04:37 British Summer Time
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Image source, Reuters
Greta Thunberg, 22, is one of the world's best-known climate change campaigners, credited with raising public awareness - especially among young people - about the issue.
In 2018, then aged 15, the Swedish national held the first "School Strike for Climate" outside the parliament in Stockholm. The protest was widely covered, and hundreds of thousands of young people across the world later joined her Fridays For Future strikes.
Ms Thunberg has since been arrested several times for her participation in environmental protests around the world, and fined by the Swedish courts.
Israel criticises 'selfie yacht' over its Gaza aid attemptpublished at 04:27 British Summer Time
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Image source, Israel Foreign Ministry
Image caption,
Greta Thunberg is seen here wearing a life jacket
The Israel foreign ministry has described the Madleen as a "selfie yacht" of "celebrities".
It says they are "unharmed" after being intercepted and are "safely" making their way to Israel. They are expected to then return to their home countries.
The Israeli department has posted photos and videos on its social media channels of the Freedom Flotilla activists, which include Greta Thunberg, wearing life jackets and being handed food and water.
It criticised the group saying they had "attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid".
"There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies," said the foreign ministry.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of famine, malnutrition and disease in Gaza.
UN special rapporteur urges boats to keep sending aid to Gazapublished at 04:16 British Summer Time
04:16 BST
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
A drone view of Madleen, the aid vessel operated by Freedom Flotilla Coalition
The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, is urging boats in the region to continue to challenge Israel's sea blockade around Gaza.
"While Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together - united, they will be unstoppable," Albanese wrote in a post on X.
She also urged the UK government to "urgently seek full clarification" and "secure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew".
Israel recently allowed limited aid into Gaza through US-backed grouppublished at 04:09 British Summer Time
It's prioritised distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US but widely condemned by humanitarian groups.
The GHF distributes aid form hubs protected by security contractors and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
While welcoming the move, the UN and some countries have described it as a "drop in the ocean".
"Significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza," the UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said last month, when Israel cleared nine aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Last week, there were a series of deadly incidents on the route to a GHF-run aid distribution site in Gaza. BBC Verify has more on that.
Organiser posts videos of its volunteerspublished at 03:59 British Summer Time
We've now seen videos posted by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organises the Madleen's intended voyage to Gaza.
In what appears to be a pre-recorded message, German activist Yasmine Acar said that she and other activists had been "intercepted at sea and kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces or by one of its allies complicit and actively participating in the genocide of Palestinians".
Over the last few hours, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has posted a series of videos on its Telegram channel featuring pre-recorded messages from the activists aboard the Madleen.
Who's on board the Madleen?published at 03:52 British Summer Time
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Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Greta Thunberg on the ship
The Madleen set sail on 6 June from Sicily with the goal of reaching Gaza. But it has since been intercepted by Israeli forces, which said the yacht was now "safely making its way to the shores of Israel".
The ship has a crew of 12 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, and Omar Faiad, a French journalist with Al Jazeera.
The remaining members are: Yasemin Acar, Baptiste Andre, Thiago Avila, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, Suayb Ordu, Sergio Toribio, Mark van Rennes and Reva Viard.
Welcome to our live coveragepublished at 03:36 British Summer Time
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We're following the apparent blocking of an aid vessel bound for the Gaza Strip by Israel.
Israeli forces boarded the Madleen yacht on Sunday, according to those aboard, as it tried to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among those on the vessel, which was reported to be off the Egyptian coast.
On Sunday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group, which operates the yacht, posted a photo showing people in life jackets sitting with their hands up on Telegram.
"SOS! The volunteers on Madleen have been kidnapped by Israeli forces," the group wrote.
Israel's foreign ministry has said the yacht is now "safely making its way to the shores of Israel" and its passengers are "expected to return to their home countries".
Image source, EPA
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Government of Malta/Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Israel Foreign Ministry
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Screenshot/Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Image source, Reuters
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