By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): The Israeli navy has intercepted the Madleen, a humanitarian aid boat attempting to break the blockade on Gaza, drawing sharp condemnation from human rights organisations and intensifying scrutiny of Israel’s conduct amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave.
The Madleen, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, carried 12 unarmed activists — including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience — on a mission to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The boat was reportedly still in international waters when it was intercepted by Israeli forces under the cover of night.
“This operation… violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. “Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice.”
Callamard emphasised that Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation to ensure the safe access of food, medicine, and essential supplies for Gaza’s population. Instead, she said, “It has consistently and deliberately impeded the provision of impartial humanitarian assistance for civilians in desperate need. Its military attacks have also damaged or destroyed vital infrastructure, including sources of food production like agricultural lands, compounding the impact of its starvation policy.”
Freedom Flotilla Coalition press coordinator Yasemin Acar, speaking from aboard the Madleen prior to the interception, told Anadolu Agency that the ship’s internet connection was being jammed. “We have just been notified by our land team that our internet jamming has started officially,” she said. “We could be cut off from the world at any moment.” At the time, the vessel remained 116 nautical miles from Gaza and within international waters.
“The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission — they must be released immediately and unconditionally,” Callamard added. “They must also be protected from torture and other ill-treatment pending their release.”
She described the Madleen’s journey as “a powerful symbol of solidarity with besieged, starved and suffering Palestinians amid persistent international inaction. However, this mission is also an indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade.”
Callamard stressed that the activists would not have had to risk their lives “if Israel’s allies had turned their words into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza.”
She warned that unless governments worldwide end their blanket support for Israel, “it will have carte blanche to continue inflicting relentless death and suffering on Palestinians.”
“Now is the time to take a clear stand — not just with words, but with action. Governments must act now or risk their continued complicity in Israel’s grave violations of Palestinians’ rights,” she urged. “They must publicly denounce Israel’s interception and detention of the Madleen’s crew and demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those on board. They must make clear that they will no longer tolerate Israel blocking humanitarian aid to a population facing starvation and genocide. They must press Israel to lift its suffocating blockade and allow aid to be delivered through all crossings into Gaza now.”
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE DEEPENS
As international outrage over the boat’s seizure mounted, the humanitarian crisis inside Gaza continued to worsen. Over the Eid al-Adha holiday, at least 32 Palestinians, including children, were killed, and dozens more injured in Israeli airstrikes.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that eight people were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a home in Jabalia, while 10 others, including children, died after Israeli missiles hit tents and shelters housing displaced persons in Khan Younis. In western Rafah, an airstrike near an aid distribution centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation killed 13 more Palestinians, with another casualty reported near a second centre in the Netzarim Corridor.
Israeli forces also continued demolishing homes in Jabalia and eastern Gaza City, according to eyewitnesses.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a stark warning, stating that Gaza’s health system is on the brink of collapse. In just two weeks, the ICRC field hospital in Rafah activated its mass-casualty protocol 12 times. “An overwhelming majority of patients from the recent incidents said they had been trying to reach assistance distribution sites,” the ICRC reported.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said its team in al-Mawasi, southern Khan Younis, received 13 injured men and one deceased individual. Victims, many with gunshot wounds, arrived on donkey carts, bicycles, or on foot. Survivors said they were attacked while attempting to reach food aid at Saudi Village.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported 108 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours alone, raising the death toll since October 2023 to at least 54,880, with over 126,227 injured.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” said the ministry.
Despite widespread condemnation and intensifying humanitarian appeals, Israel continues to restrict aid deliveries and conduct military operations. Human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of systematically targeting civilians and obstructing humanitarian access, a pattern Amnesty International warns will continue unless decisive international action is taken.
[Photo: Palestinian parents Muna al-Aydi and Abdullah Abu Dakka mourn the death of their two-year-old daughter Maryam Abu Dakka, who died at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, where she was receiving treatment amid limited medical resources in Khan Yunis, Gaza on June 09, 2025. Two-year-old daughter Maryam Abu Dakka’s death comes amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, border closures, and a collapsing healthcare system in Gaza due to Israeli attacks. Photojournalist: Abdallah F.S. Alattar/AA]
