Israel has given a serious warning to Greta Thunberg, stating that the environmental activist will be prevented from reaching the Gaza Strip on her ‘freedom flotilla’.
Ms Thunberg, 22, is among 12 activists on board the ship, hoping to ‘break [Israel’s] siege on the Gaza Strip’ with a delivery of humanitarian aid.
She is joined by Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French MEP, aiming to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in the region.
The vessel is expected to reach Gaza this weekend, having set off from Catania in Sicily last Sunday.
The Israel Defence Forces have been instructed to intercept the ship and have alleged that Ms. Thunberg is an ‘antisemite traveling with Hamas propagandists’.
Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that Israel will not permit anyone to violate its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which is intended to hinder Hamas from smuggling weapons.
‘I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen … does not reach Gaza.
‘To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists – I will say this clearly: You should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza,’ he said.
Greta Thunberg pictured on the Madleen ‘freedom flotilla’. Israel has said she will not make it to the Gaza Strip
![Ms Thunberg is among 12 activists on board the ship, pictured, hoping to 'break [Israel's] siege on the Gaza Strip' with a delivery of humanitarian aid](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/06/08/14/99065465-14791781-Israel_has_threatened_to_stop_the_Madleen_if_it_approaches_the_b-a-66_1749390942073.jpg)
Ms Thunberg is among 12 activists on board the ship, pictured, hoping to ‘break [Israel’s] siege on the Gaza Strip’ with a delivery of humanitarian aid
Defense Minister Israel Katz, pictured in August, said that Israel would not allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory
The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.
Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media on Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices about 160 nautical miles from Gaza.
Ms Hassan, who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
It was previously reported that the IDF had begun deploying security forces in the area the vessel was due to land in, according to the Jerusalem Post.
A senior Israeli defence source told the outlet that Israel will not allow the ship to enter Gaza, and that the activists face arrest if they disobey the military.
Military sources said the activists will be told clearly not to enter the area, and that the elite forces are preparing for the eventuality they defy the order or ‘provoke’ the IDF.
The IDF may take control of the vessel, arrest the protestors and transfer them to the port in Ashdod to be deported, the outlet reports.
The Israeli Army said previously that it is ‘prepared’ to raid the ship, as it has done with previous freedom flotilla efforts.
She is joined by Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, pictured in May, aiming to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in the region
Rima Hassan, pictured in November, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians
Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen a day after setting off from Catania
The IDF has begun deploying security forces in the area, JPost reported this week
‘For this case as well, we are prepared,’ IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said. ‘We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.’
The activists have already raised concern for their safety, noting a drone attack on a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship off the coast of Malta in May.
Thunberg’s shipmate issued a drone alert on the ‘third day of our journey to Gaza to break the siege’.
An Israeli drone operated by Greece’s Hellenic Coastguard reportedly followed the Madleen flotilla, hovering above it for two consecutive nights on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Heron drone, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is capable of carrying payloads up to 1,000kg and flying for 52 continuous hours.
The Madleen, still crossing the Mediterranean east towards Gaza, reportedly changed course this morning to respond to a migrant distress call.
Sources told Al Jazeera the ship had detected a migrant boat, estimated to be carrying around 40 asylum seekers.
Ahead of their departure on Sunday, Thunberg said: ‘We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying’.
Shayetet 13, the IDF’s elite naval commando unit pictured in a stock photo
An Israeli navy ship patrols off Zikim beach in southwestern Israel near the border with Gaza, March 29, 2024 (Stock Photo)
‘Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,’ she added.
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an anti-Semitic ‘blood libel’.
Fellow activist Thiago Avila said: ‘We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land.’
Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza – an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media – which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.
Israel imposed a blockade on supplies into Gaza on March 2, and limited aid began to enter again late last month after pressure from allies and warnings of famine.
Food security experts one in five people in Gaza now face starvation after Israel enacted its blockade.
Gaza is almost completely reliant on international aid because Israel’s offensive has destroyed nearly all food production capabilities.
In April, ActionAid reported that the price of flour in Gaza had soared to $300 a bag after more than 50 days without new aid deliveries.
People watch as smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 25, 2025
Smoke emerges from the site following an Israeli airstrike targeting the home of the Harb family at Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, June 1
Israeli tanks are positioned along the border with the Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025
Most people are now surviving on a single meal per day, consisting mostly of pasta, rice or canned food, it reported.
More than 3,700 children were newly admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in March alone, it said, an 80 per cent rise on the previous month, per UNOCHA.
UN Security Council members criticised the US on Wednesday after it vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, which Washington said undermined ongoing diplomacy.
It was the 15-member body’s first vote on the situation since November, when the United States – a key Israeli ally – also blocked a text calling for an end to fighting.
The draft resolution had demanded ‘an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties.’
It also called for the ‘immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups,’ and demanded the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement after Wednesday’s 14 to 1 vote: ‘Today, the United States sent a strong message by vetoing a counterproductive UN Security Council resolution on Gaza targeting Israel.
‘The United States will continue to stand with Israel at the UN.’
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251.
They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
