Gaza – Saba:
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard affirmed on Monday that the Israeli authorities' interception of "Madeleine" ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.
Callamard explained in a statement on X platform that the ship was carrying unarmed civilians on a humanitarian mission, aiming to break the illegal Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
She noted that its interception constitutes a violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice.
She emphasized that international law obliges Israel to ensure adequate food and medicine for civilians in Gaza, and that it should have allowed "Madeleine" to reach its humanitarian destination.
Callamard called for the immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza, stressing that Israel's continued closure of the Strip and denial of aid entry constitutes a violation of the International Court of Justice's orders, which called for an end to the genocide, facilitation of humanitarian access, and the entry of international fact-finding missions.
The Secretary General of Amnesty International added: "There is an ongoing genocide, a military occupation, and an apartheid regime. Palestinians in Gaza are being starved, humanitarian workers are being targeted, and humanitarian aid is being denied."
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (an organization that launched a campaign against the blockade on Gaza and attempted to break the blockade by boat) said that "the Israeli occupation army boarded its ship, the Madeleine, which was heading to Gaza, and contact with it was lost."
In a statement issued Monday morning, the coalition accused Israeli enemy forces of "kidnapping the volunteers on board the Madeleine."
Israeli Army Radio quoted a military source as saying that "the Madeleine is being taken to the port of Ashdod after being seized." The Israeli occupation army broadcast footage of the moment all foreign activists aboard the Madeleine were arrested.
Earlier, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced that "sirens sounded on board its Madeleine, and that gunboats approached and surrounded it, coinciding with the hovering of a drone and the dropping of an unknown white liquid on the ship."
For her part, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, announced that "Israeli speedboats reached the Madeleine."
Albanese added that "the ship's crew informed soldiers from the occupation army that they were carrying humanitarian aid and that they would leave safely."
The Madeleine had set sail earlier this month from the Italian port of Catania toward the Gaza Strip, on a voyage aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade.
This ship is carrying 12 activists of various nationalities, in addition to humanitarian aid including food, medicine, and medical equipment.
The Madeleine is the 36th ship in the Freedom Flotilla coalition, which aims to break the blockade imposed by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip since 2007.
The ship is named after Madeleine Kullab, the first Palestinian female fisherman in the Gaza Strip. She lost her father and her livelihood after the Israeli aggression began in October 2023.
With American and European support, the Israeli enemy army has been committing genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 54,927 Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 126,615 others. To date, the death toll is incomplete, with thousands of victims still buried under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulance and rescue crews.
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