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Israeli War Minister Threatens Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Above photo: Katz confirmed that the army has been ordered to prevent the aid boat from reaching the strip, and ‘will not allow anyone’ to break the blockade on Gaza.

‘You better turn back.’

NOTE: At 11:18 pm UK time on June 8, Francesca Albanese reported on X that there are five Israeli speedboats surrounding the Madleen. The tracker for the Madleen has gone off line. Albanese subsequently reported that there were two hostile drones hovering over the sailboat and that the people on board were taking cover.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on 8 June that he has instructed the army to prevent the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel from reaching the besieged strip. 

“I have instructed the Israeli army to act to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza. To the anti-Semitic Greta and her friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back – because you won’t reach Gaza,” Katz said.

“Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, which aims to prevent Hamas from supplying weapons,” the defense minister added.

According to reports from Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) and Channel 12, the Israeli navy is preparing to intercept the vessel, seize it, and tow it to Ashdod port.

The army also plans to arrest and deport the activists on board the boat.

Katz had chaired a meeting on 5 June to discuss a final decision on how to deal with the vessel and its passengers, coinciding with Hebrew media reports saying Israeli naval commandos were preparing to seize the vessel.

The aid boat is carrying 12 pro-Palestinian activists, including renowned climate activist Greta Thunberg, Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, and acclaimed actress Susan Sarandon – all of whom have been outspoken critics of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and its brutal blockade of the strip.

On 7 June, the Madleen reached the Egyptian coast.

Activist Yasemin Acar, who is onboard the vessel, told Alaraby TV on Sunday that the Gaza Freedom Flotilla is 160 nautical miles away from the Gaza Strip.

“We are in international waters, and Israel will be committing a war crime if it suppresses us. Israel has sent three naval ships toward us, and we will see what happens,” she said.

Reports have emerged that communication jamming has begun targeting the boat.

Activist Thiago Avila said that “according to our tracker, we are no longer 162 nautical miles from Gaza … we know what that means when they start jamming our communications, it means they are preparing for an interception or an attack.”

An Israeli drone bombed a Freedom Flotilla aid vessel that was en route to Gaza early on 2 May, blowing a hole through the vessel, causing a fire, and putting it at risk of sinking.

In 2010, Israeli commandos raided a group of Freedom Flotilla ships with helicopters as they were carrying aid and headed towards Gaza to break the siege. The commandos killed nine Turkish civilians and injured 30 others of several nationalities.

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