Israel's Seizure of Gaza Freedom Flotilla Called a 'Blatant Act of International Piracy'

Israeli forces early Monday boarded the Madleen, a United Kingdom-flagged vessel carrying humanitarian aid, and detained its crew members as they sought to deliver food, children's prosthetics, and other supplies to Gaza's besieged and starving population.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement that the Madleen was "unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food, and medical supplies—confiscated."

Huwaida Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer, said that "Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the Madleen" and argued that Israel's naval blockade violates the International Court of Justice's "binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza."

"These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade—their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately," said Arraf.

Heidi Matthews, an assistant professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Canada, echoed Arraf, writing on social media that "the world is watching Israel attack a civilian boat carrying no weapons—only humanitarian aid—flying a U.K. flag in international waters and carrying humanitarians of many nationalities."

"Israel has precisely zero authority to do so under any law," Matthews added.

"If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Monday derided the Madleen as a "selfie yacht" and said the vessel is "safely making its way to the shores of Israel" after the country's forces boarded the boat, which set sail from Sicily on June 1. The foreign ministry added that there are other "ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip"—but Israel's military has been tightly restricting the flow of food and other assistance, pushing the enclave toward famine.

Among the vessel's dozen passengers are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament.

"If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel," Thunberg said in a video posted online by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. "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."

Zeteo's Prem Thakker reported that "before connection was lost, video from the vessel showed some form of white substance sprayed upon the vessel."

"Passengers reported the unknown liquid came from drones flying overhead, while the ship's radios began being jammed," Thakker wrote.

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called Israel's seizure of the Madleen "a blatant act of international piracy and state terrorism."

"We call on governments—especially western governments funding Israel's genocide and Arab Muslim governments watching it happen—to show an iota of the courage demonstrated by those on the Madleen by using every tool at their disposal to force an end to the genocide," said Awad.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, wrote that "while Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza."

"Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us," Albanese added.