BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- Israeli forces raided the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen vessel in international waters early on Monday as it was approaching Gaza to break the siege, seizing the boat and detaining the 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food, and medical supplies – confiscated,” the Gaza Freedom Flotilla said. 
Israeli forces “forcibly intercepted” the Madleen in international waters overnight about 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza, it added.
The Zionist regime announced in a statement on Monday that its forces took control of the “selfie yacht” and towed it to the port of Ashdod. “The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.”
War minister Israel Katz praised the raid on the ship. Israeli quadcopter drones and navy vessels surrounded the Madleen during the interception. 
Video footage of the moment Israeli forces advanced toward the vessel circulated on social media, showing the activists holding their hands up. 
The Madleen was carrying a meager but ‘symbolic’ amount of humanitarian aid as a protest and a humanitarian effort, described by the organizers as a last-ditch attempt to urge world governments to take immediate action and restore safe channels for delivering essential aid and medical supplies.
The Left group in the European Parliament condemned Israel’s seizure of the Madleen aid ship as a “blatant violation of international law.” The political group, which includes 46 lawmakers, said the arrest of the crew and confiscation of humanitarian supplies is part of a broader strategy to “starve and massacre Palestinians in Gaza while hiding Israeli war crimes from the world.”
In a statement, it urged the EU, UN, and international community to condemn the detention, demand the crew’s unconditional release, and ensure unimpeded aid entry into Gaza. “Solidarity is not a crime, genocide is,” it added.
In a post on social media, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, said, “Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid and solidarity to Gaza.”
Israel’s blockade of Gaza has resulted in the spread of famine across the strip.
A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) released last week stated that over one million Palestinians may face fatal levels of starvation by mid-July.
Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship, preventing the 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.
 Iran said the assault is considered a form of piracy under international law since it happened in international waters.
Turkey said the raid is a “clear violation of international law” that “once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state”.
Spain summoned Dan Poraz, charge d’affaires at the Israeli embassy in Madrid, reported the Spanish newspaper El Pais and Al Jazeera Arabic, quoting a source at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said, “We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies.”
“We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza.” 
In the besieged Gaza Strip, the Israeli military killed eight civilians who had been waiting to receive humanitarian aid at a distribution point in southern Gaza’s Rafah governorate, and injured dozens more near another aid site close to the Netzarim Corridor in the central part of the strip. 
At least 23 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces since dawn across the Gaza Strip, according to the Quds News Agency, citing health officials.
A medical source at the Baptist Hospital said 11 people were killed in the Israeli military’s bombing of the Shuja’iyya and Zeitoun neighborhoods.
Gaza’s health ministry said that over the past 24 hours, 47 people had been killed and 388 others wounded by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
According to the ministry, 54,927 people have been killed and 126,615 others wounded in the Gaza Strip since the start of Israel’s war on the territory in October 2023.