Thunberg’s Gaza-bound boat towed to Ashdod; Katz says activists refuse to watch Oct. 7 footage
Israel says activists intercepted en route to breach blockade being checked ‘to ensure they are in good health,’ will be deported; Katz: They ‘turned a blind eye’ to Hamas atrocities
The activist boat that tried to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and was intercepted by the Israeli Navy early on Monday morning reached the Ashdod Port Monday evening.
The Foreign Ministry published photos of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila as they disembarked from the Madleen boat.
The detained activists, including Thunberg, would be handed over to police to be deported, and the small amount of aid they brought will be sent into Gaza, Israeli officials have said.
“The ‘Selfie Yacht’ docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier that he instructed the military to screen a video showing atrocities committed by the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, to the detained activists once they had safely arrived at the port. But, he said later, they refused to watch the footage.
The harrowing 43-minute video produced by the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson’s office shows uncensored, difficult-to-watch footage of people being massacred and bodies mutilated during the Hamas-led onslaught, much of it taken from terrorists’ bodycams.
“Greta [Thunberg] and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival for a screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre, and when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching,” Katz later said in a statement.
“The antisemitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children,” he added.
The ‘Selfie Yacht’ docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health. pic.twitter.com/dGOhPxQnYI
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
Israeli forces took control of the Gaza-bound boat Madleen early Monday and detained the group of 12 activists who were on board, following repeated warnings to the activists against attempting to sail to the Gaza coast, which is under a strict maritime blockade.
The activist mission organized by the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Freedom Flotilla Coalition had sought to challenge the blockade and raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis created by the 20-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. It had planned to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the war-torn enclave.
The group of activists also included French-Palestinian European Parliament Member Rima Hassan.
The vessel had defied repeated warnings issued by Israel to turn around since departing Sicily last Sunday. The last reported location of the vessel was at 1:15 a.m. local time, just north of Egypt’s Port Said, around 55 nautical miles from Israeli-administered waters. At around 3 a.m. Monday, as it approached Gaza, it was intercepted by the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and the Snapir harbor security unit, a military official told The Times of Israel.
Before it was boarded, it was given a final opportunity to change course, both by the Foreign Ministry and the Navy, but again refused.
A video then showed an Israeli Navy soldier communicating with the boat over the loudspeaker, telling them that the maritime zone around Gaza was closed, but that the humanitarian aid could be delivered to the Strip via Ashdod Port.
Israel confirmed that it had taken control of the boat and was towing it toward Ashdod port in a statement released via the Foreign Ministry, which said that the “selfie yacht” was “safely making its way to the shores of Israel.”
Israel has said the activists will be deported. “The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” the Foreign Ministry statement added.
The Times of Israel Community.