Israel pledges to block Madleen, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition aid boat with Greta Thunberg aboard, from entering Gaza Strip

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s defense minister has declared that an aid vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and fellow activists will be blocked from accessing the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Sunday that Israel is committed to maintaining its naval blockade on the Palestinian area. This blockade is designed to stop Hamas from bringing in weapons.

Thunberg, renowned for her climate activism, is one of 12 individuals on the Madleen, a ship managed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. It left Sicily the previous Sunday with a goal to challenge the blockade on Gaza and provide humanitarian relief, spotlighting the worsening humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian region.

The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament 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.

After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.