Greta Thunberg Gaza flotilla – live: Aid ship reaches Ashdod port in Israel

Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht “Madleen” is approaching Ashdod port in Israel.

The 12-person Madleen set sail for Gaza eight days ago from the port of Catania in Sicily.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), responsible for the boat, said the trip aimed “to break Israel’s more than 17-year illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip”.

The ship’s location was being monitored live by Forensic Architecture using a Garmin live tracker on board before that tracker was switched off when Israel intercepted the vessel.

Speaking aboard the Madleen last week, Ms Thunberg told Middle East Eye: “We have promised ourselves and we have promised the Palestinian people to do everything we can.

“When our governments are failing us … then it falls on us to step up and be the adults in the room.

“We are just human beings, very concerned about what’s happening, and do not accept what is going on.”

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, has written to foreign secretary David Lammy, urging him to take action over the Madleen ship.

Ms Whittome wrote in the letter: “I write regarding the Madleen aid flotilla, a UK-flagged vessel, which has been seized by Israel.

“Our government must act now to ensure the safety of all on board, and ensure that vital humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza without delay.

“I am gravely concerned for the welfare of those on board the Madleen in light of Israel’s previous actions in seizing aid ships.

“In 2010, 10 people were killed, while 30 more were injured, after Israeli forces opened fire on a vessel they had seized, in what the UNHCR described as an ‘unacceptable level of brutality’.

“The interception of theMadleen represents yet another flagrant violation of international law. I also urge you to bring all possible political pressure to ensure that Israel no longer uses aid as a weapon.”

US President Donald Trump plans to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, two White House officials have said.

The call comes as Trump has been trying to accelerate aid into Gaza and to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Trump has occasionally expressed frustration with Netanyahu. Last week, he said he had warned Netanyahu not to take actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran.

“I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution now,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “That could change at any moment.”

Hundreds of people are protesting outside the UK foreign office in central London, demanding safe passage for the Madleen ship.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Israel sealed off Gaza from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, but later relented under US pressure.

In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer gave a press conference earlier in which he claimed the Madleen was a “selfie yacht”.

A Palestinian woman who the Madleen vessel that was intercepted by Israeli forces is named after says she is “deeply disheartened” by its capture.

Madleen Kulab, believed to be Gaza’s only female fisherman, told Al Jazeera: “I was deeply disheartened. I strongly anticipated this scenario, but I was truly hoping for a miracle that somehow the ship would break the blockade and reach Gaza.”