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Here’s where things stand on Monday 9 June 2025:
- Fears for the safety of Gaza activists as Israel says the Madleen’s crew is being taken to the country after commandos illegally seized the humanitarian vessel in international waters.
- The Madleen ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was about 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza when it was captured.
- It was carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving because of the strict Israeli siege since March 2, which was lifted partially last month under mounting international pressure.
- Israel has killed 54,927 people in Gaza during this war after maintaining a land, sea and air blockade since 2007.
- The Madleen departed Sicily on June 1, one month after Israeli drones bombed another aid ship headed for Gaza. Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among the 12 activists now being detained by Israel.
Israeli strike blows up vehicle in Lebanon despite Hezbollah truce
An Israeli drone has launched two missiles at a car travelling on a road on the outskirts of al-Numairieh town in southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the targeted vehicle was blown off the road by the force of the explosions and caught fire.
Israel has been carrying out near-daily air strikes across southern Lebanon, often resulting in casualties, despite a ceasefire agreed with Hezbollah in November.
Israel demolishes homes in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have resumed demolishing homes in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced since the Israeli army began raiding the camp in January.
Many residents now fear they’ll never be able to rebuild their homes, even if the Israeli forces withdraw.
‘We are left to face our pain in silence’
Madleen Kulab’s grief extends beyond the failed voyage of the aid ship named after her. It reflects the wider pain inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza – a suffering she says feels endless.
“This ship’s story mirrors my own, and the story of every tired, worn-out person in Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera. “We are just a media wave. It rises sharply then fades just as fast, and we are left to face our pain in silence.”
Now, with Madleen ship intercepted and its crew detained by Israel, Kulab said she has no wishes left except for the crew’s safety and eventual return home.
“Their noble message was delivered. The message of humanity reached the world. But I no longer have the words to appeal to anyone to act.”
Her voice grows heavier as she speaks of the daily toll of life in Gaza.
“I am drowning in suffering amid war and starvation. Me, my family, and everyone here. Day by day, my hatred for everything around me grows. My hatred for life itself grows stronger with each passing day.”
Israeli forces raid towns near Tulkarem, detain Palestinians
Israel’s army has carried out incursions on several villages in the Sha’rawiya area north of Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank, detaining two young men.
Citing local sources, Wafa news agency said Israeli military vehicles stormed the towns of Baqa al-Sharqiya, Attil, Allar, and Seida, setting up checkpoints, blocking main roads, and halting the movement of vehicles and residents.
Troops stopped and interrogated young men, checked identification cards, and subjected some to physical abuse and temporary detentions. Several shops were also raided and searched by Israeli soldiers.
In a separate incident, Wafa said two men – Rami Ragheb Hamad and Omar Mousa Salman – were detained near the main entrance of Ramin, a town east of Tulkarem.
Israeli forces also raided Anabta, another town east of Tulkarem, patrolled its main streets, and were later seen moving towards Nur Shams refugee camp.
Israeli forces have launched a major incursion into Nur Shams and other areas across the northern West Bank, deploying ground troops and armoured vehicles.
Sweden: Citizens bear responsibility for travelling to Gaza after warnings
After Greta Thunberg made an appeal for pressure to be put on the Swedish government to release her and the other activists from the Israelis, the Foreign Ministry released a statement saying consular support could be offered to her and any other Swedes.
That’s how it stood for most of the day. But within the last hour, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was interviewed outside the Swedish parliament.
She said the assessment of the situation is that the activists on the Madleen are not in any danger and, therefore, aren’t in need of consular support.
Stenergard said people have been advised against travelling to Gaza by the Swedish government for the past 10 years, and those who do bear a certain amount of responsibility.
At this stage, those comments are nowhere near as strong as the messages coming from some other governments of the activists taken by Israel.
Israeli strikes on Khan Younis kill 13, including children
At least 13 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed and others wounded after Israeli forces bombed multiple areas in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here is a breakdown, according the Palestinian news agency Wafa:
- Seven people were killed and others injured when Israeli forces bombed a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.
- Additional casualties were reported in an Israeli strike on Abasan al-Kabira, east of Gaza’s second-largest city.
- A woman was killed from wounds sustained in a previous Israeli attack on Khan Younis.
- A young girl was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the industrial zone northwest of the city.
- Two more Palestinians died in a drone strike targeting Palestinians in Batn as-Sameen, southwest of Khan Younis.
‘Total chaos’: Israeli forces again massacre hungry Palestinians seeking food
Every day since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution points have opened, Palestinians have gathered in large crowds waiting to collect what little food there is.
As they approach, the Israeli army starts opening fire, Israeli quadcopters hover above their heads, and Israeli tanks proceed to bear down on the aid seekers.
The toll rose to 14 Palestinians killed today at these distribution sites, among them a woman named Hanan who was solely responsible for feeding her kids and family.
The shootings occurred at the Rafah distribution point near al-Mawasi, but also in central Gaza, where 31 Palestinians were wounded. Most victims sustained gunfire in the upper parts of the body – the chest, the neck, the head.
These distribution sites are in the middle of nowhere, where Israeli bulldozers destroyed residential homes. It’s totally chaotic. Israeli forces have been firing live ammunition as well as tear gas canisters to disperse starving Palestinians.
Palestinian child dies of malnutrition in southern Gaza
A Palestinian child has died of malnutrition at the Children’s and Maternity Hospital in Khan Younis, a medical source in Nasser Medical Complex tells Al Jazeera.
Starvation is getting worse in northern Gaza, where 31 percent of children under the age of two are suffering from acute malnutrition, a percentage that has doubled since January.
‘I was hoping for a miracle’: Madleen Kulab reacts to Israel’s seizure
Over the past week, Madleen Kulab – the young woman after whom the ship was named – followed with hope and anxiety as the vessel made its way towards the shores of Gaza in a daring attempt to break the Israeli blockade.
Throughout the journey, Kulab remained in close contact with the organisers and supporters behind the mission, waiting anxiously for the ship’s arrival. But her guarded optimism gave way to heartbreak when she awoke to the news that Israeli commandos intercepted the ship and detained 12 activists on board.
“I was deeply disheartened,” Kulab told Al Jazeera. “I strongly anticipated this scenario, but I was truly hoping for a miracle that somehow the ship would break the blockade and reach Gaza.”
The night before, Kulab was on a live video call with Rima Hassan, one of the activists aboard the seized ship.
“Her words really moved me, the way she’s devoted her life to the Palestinian cause, how her greatest dream is to visit Gaza. And yet, that simple dream has been made impossible by Israel.”
For Kulab, the interception was not just a political act, it was personal. Living under siege, she knows the weight of isolation all too well.
“We live in a place completely sealed off from the world. Every previous attempt by ships or flotillas to break the blockade has been met with military intervention. This has been going on for 15 years before the current war. So imagine the situation now with the war still raging.”
Tunisian aid convoy heads to Gaza to ‘break’ Israeli blockade
Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, have a large land convoy bound for the coastal enclave to “break the siege” on the Palestinian territory.
Organisers said the nine-bus convoy isn’t bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a “symbolic act” by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as “the hungriest place on Earth“.
The “Soumoud” convoy, meaning “steadfastness” in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, “by the end of the week”, said activist Jawaher Channa.
It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she said.
“We are about 1,000 people and we will have more join us along the way,” said Channa, spokeswoman for the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine.
Gaza aid activists ask supporters to ‘demand our release’
Activists on board the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s vessel Madleen are calling on their governments to intervene after Israel detained them on their way to Gaza.
Death toll in Gaza since dawn rises to 44
Medical sources in hospitals across Gaza tell Al Jazeera at least 44 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since this morning.
At least 14 Palestinians were killed near an Israel- and US-backed aid distribution site in Rafah in southern Gaza.
It’s the latest mass shooting of starving aid seekers by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began its widely criticised operation on May 27.
Gaza aid ship ‘a powerful symbol’ of urgent action needed: Ireland
The Irish foreign minister has praised the Madleen, the Gaza-bound aid ship intercepted by Israel, but says it’s a “shame” on the world that Palestinians are starving in Gaza.
“The Madleen was an effort to get food and medicine to the starving people of Gaza; an unarmed civilian effort in the midst of devastation and catastrophic humanitarian conditions,” Simon Harris said in a statement.
Praising the effort, Harris noted it’s “a powerful symbol” of immediate action required to end Israel’s months-long blockade on all humanitarian aid.
“What the flotilla has highlighted is the urgent need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza,” he said, adding that the ship’s seizure is yet another attempt by Israeli authorities to prevent aid from entering the devastated territory.
Sweden: Madleen activists not in danger, no need for support
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard has addressed the status of Swedish national Greta Thunberg and the 11 other activists illegally taken into Israeli custody.
In comments carried by Swedish media, Stenergard emphasised that Sweden’s government has long advised against travel to Gaza and the activists bear “clear personal responsibility”.
The government’s current assessment is that the activists are not in danger and there is no need for consular support, she added.
Activist Thunberg recorded a video before her capture.
“I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces … I ask all my friends, family, and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” she said.
Gaza war death toll
At least 4,649 Palestinians have been killed since Israel broke a nearly two-month ceasefire in March.
Al Jazeera ‘profoundly alarmed’ over safety of Madleen activists
The Qatar-based media outlet has expressed alarm over “the imminent peril faced by those on board the Madleen Gaza flotilla, which was boarded and seized by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Gaza”.
“The Network urgently calls upon the international community and governments to take immediate action to guarantee their safety,” it said in a statement.
Al Jazeera also expressed concern for its journalist Omar Fayyad, who was on board.
“Al Jazeera categorically denounces the Israeli incursion and confiscation of the vessel, and holds the Israeli authorities entirely responsible for the welfare of its journalist, Omar Fayyad, who was reporting live during the forcible capture of the ship,” the outlet stated.
What happens next to the Madleen and its crew?
The Madleen was stopped by Israel on its way to Gaza. What happens to Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan and the other activists now?
Read more here.
Israel to isolate Madleen crew ‘from each other and outside world’
We haven’t seen footage of the Madleen docking in Ashdod yet, but we’ve heard that Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has instructed prison authorities to detain the activists and put them in solitary confinement, isolated from one another and the world.
The activists will have no access to communication, radios or TVs or any contact with the outside world until they are processed and deported. Israel plans to deport them, not keep them detained on Israeli territory.
Of course, Israel has called their flotilla the “selfie boat”. It has downplayed the fact that they are trying to break the siege it imposes on Gaza, a siege that only Israel considers to be legal and the rest of the international community has condemned as unlawful.
The Freedom Flotilla sent a strong message
The Madleen carried out an important mission. It demonstrated to the world and to governments that are refusing to abide by their international legal obligations to stop the genocide and lift the blockade that Gaza will not be forgotten.
Read more here.
UN calls for unrestricted flow of aid to alleviate Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
Responding to a question about the Madleen’s impact in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says there has to be a “meaningful lifting of the blockade”.
“What is happening right now is a very limited number of aid shipments being allowed in [by Israel], and this aid is woefully insignificant compared to the people’s needs on the ground,” she told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Cherevko stressed that only comprehensive changes would improve conditions for Gaza’s population.
“The only way to address these needs and to alleviate the suffering of the people is through an unencumbered, unfettered and unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza and also an enabling environment for us to be able to pick up these supplies, to deliver them to the distribution points, to deliver them directly to families and really empower the society to rebuild their lives in some way,” she added.
![Palestinians carry bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, June 6, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AP25157372542993_cropped-1749234299.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Madleen activists ‘detainees, not prisoners’: Human rights lawyer
We have reported earlier that Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir seeks to hold the Madleen activists in separate cells at a prison in Israel.
Addressing other reports claiming that the activists would be wearing uniforms, human rights lawyer Sara Bashi said it would be “very unusual for the Israeli government to issue prison uniforms to people who are not prisoners”.
“They’re detainees … not prisoners,” she told Al Jazeera. “In the past, people who have entered Israel and been refused entry have been deported in their regular clothing. So, I’m not sure what that intention is.”
Asked about reports that Israel will force activists to watch videos of the October 2023 Hamas attacks, she said this is “part of what is so heartbreaking about what’s going on now”.
“Hamas-led fighters violated a core principle of international humanitarian law by targeting Israeli civilians. That was wrong, and the answer cannot be for the Israeli military to then target Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as it has done,” she added.
Swedish activist accuses his country of being ‘complicit’ in Israel’s actions
Activist Andrew Arendt Wegerif has condemned the seizure of the Madleen ship and criticised the Swedish government for failing to denounce the Israeli move.
“What happened is outrageous,” Wegerif, a member of Ship to Gaza Sweden – an organisation aiming to break Israel’s blockade of the enclave – told Al Jazeera. “Israel has once again broken international law and boarded a civilian vessel in international waters.”
He accused the Swedish government and other Western powers of being “complicit” in Israel’s actions and urged Stockholm to speak out in support of Swedish citizen Greta Thunberg, who was among the onboard activists.
Wegerif expressed hope that the Madleen’s voyage would raise awareness about “war crimes” taking place in Gaza, as well as inspire other people to follow the Madleen’s example.
“Our governments have been terribly complicit and so weak in their reaction … and therefore people have to take action themselves,” he said.
Israel preparing to hold Madleen activists in separate cells in Givon Prison: Report
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed prison authorities to prepare separate cells for the activists from the Madleen ship at Givon Prison in Ramla, where they will be held before being deported, according to Israel Hayom.
Upon arrival in Ashdod, the activists will be escorted to the prison in vehicles with tinted windows to minimise public attention, media reports said.
Ben-Gvir has also directed prison officials to prohibit the activists from possessing any pro-Palestinian symbols during their detention and to deny them access to electronics such as televisions and radios in their cells, according to the report.