Israeli forces prevent aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza

JERUSALEM AP Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists early Monday and diverted it to Israel enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas The selfie yacht of the celebrities is safely making its way to the shores of Israel the Foreign Ministry explained in a social media post The passengers are expected to return to their home countries It revealed the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists who were wearing orange life vests The Freedom Flotilla Coalition which had organized the voyage to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and protest Israel s blockade and wartime conduct stated the activists had been kidnapped by Israeli forces and disclosed pre-recorded messages from them Thunberg a situation campaigner was among activists aboard the Madleen which set sail from Sicily a week ago Along the way it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four asylum seekers who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard Rima Hassan a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent was also among the participants on board She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians After a -month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas Israel started allowing specific basic aid into Gaza last month but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta The group blamed Israel for the attack which damaged the front section of the ship Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza s roughly million Palestinians Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct but later relented under U S pressure In early March shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas the country again blocked all imports including food fuel and medicine Hamas-led militants killed around people mostly civilians in the Oct attack and abducted hostages more than half of whom have since been distributed in ceasefire agreements or other deals Hamas is still holding hostages more than half of them deduced to be dead Israel s military campaign has killed more than Palestinians according to the Gaza Robustness Ministry which has announced women and children make up preponderance of the dead It doesn t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around of the territory s population leaving people there almost utterly dependent on international aid