Israel 'prepared' to block Thunberg's Gaza aid ship

Israel has suggested that it will block a ship carrying activists including Greta Thunberg from delivering aid to Gaza.

- DANIEL KEANE, TOM WATLING

The climate campaigner set sail from a port in Sicily on Sunday with 11 other activists to deliver a "symbolic" amount of aid to the enclave, which is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.

But Brigadier General Effie Edfrin, an Israeli army spokesperson, suggested Israel may confront the boat before it reaches the shores of the Gaza Strip. "For this case as well, we are prepared," he said. "We have gained experience in recent years." In 2010, Israel sparked international outrage after its special forces killed nine people on board an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

Another boat operated by the group, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May.