News- Middle East: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has said the Israeli regime kidnapped her and other pro-Palestinian activists in international waters while they were aboard the Gaza-bound Madleen aid ship.

The Swedish activist told reporters after arriving in France on Tuesday that the Israeli regime had violated “international waters’ laws” by intercepting Madleen.

“I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international waters and brought against our own will into the Israeli [port],” she said.

She emphasized that she and her fellow activists had broken no laws and called on the Israeli regime to release the other members of the Gaza Flotilla as soon as possible.

Thunberg denied the accusation that the mission to deliver aid to Gaza via international waters was a public relations (PR) stunt.

She also laughed off the criticism from US President Donald Trump, who had described her as an “angry person.”

 She said, "I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest, especially with everything going on right now."

Thunberg described the circumstances of her kidnapping as “quite chaotic and uncertain … But the conditions we faced are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now.”

"This is not the real story. The real story is there is a genocide going on in Gaza and systematic starvation," said Thunberg.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was a humanitarian maritime campaign organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which wanted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave. The flotilla, which was led by the UK-flagged vessel Madleen, departed from Catania, Sicily, on June 1.

In the early hours of Monday (June 9), the Israeli regime’s forces intercepted, boarded, and seized the Madleen in international waters, prevented its arrival in the Gaza Strip, and kidnapped the people onboard.

In addition to Thunberg, the 12-member crew included the European Parliament representative Rima Hassan. According to Hassan, the cargo contained baby formula, crutches, diapers, flour, medical kits, and rice.

The flotilla followed an earlier attempt by the vessel Conscience (the FFC's previous flotilla), which had tried to break the naval blockade of Gaza.

The Israeli regime struck the Conscience with projectiles in international waters off the coast of Malta on May 2, 2025.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, since the Israeli regime began its genocidal war in Gaza, it has killed at least 55,000 Palestinians and wounded another 127,000, most of whom are children and women.

Source: Press TV