Thunberg's Gaza flotilla seized and taken to Israel

The boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists seeking to bring symbolic aid to Gaza has arrived at an Israeli port, after its forces intercepted the flotilla.

- ANDY GREGORY

Adalah, a legal rights group representing the activists, said at 10pm local time they had received confirmation that the group were being held at Ashdod port, just south of Tel Aviv, and were undergoing processing before being handed over to Israeli immigration authorities.

Demanding access to the passengers of the British-flagged yacht Madleen – which had sought to break the naval blockade on Gaza – Adalah said: “Unless they agree to leave immediately, they will be transferred to the detention facility in Ramleh.

“While authorities have indicated that those who consent to deportation may be allowed to fly out from Tel Aviv tonight, it’s unclear what conditions – such as signing documents or waiving rights – may be imposed.”

Earlier, organisers of the “Freedom Flotilla”, said there had been no contact with the 12 international activists for nearly 19 hours after the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters at around 2am yesterday.

Warning that the activists had been “forcibly abducted” while sailing peacefully under international law, organiser Huwaida Arraf told Al Jazeera that Israel “has no authority” to maintain its blockade on Gaza, and criticised the UK government for failing to issue a strong condemnation of the UK-flagged vessel’s seizure.