JERUSALEM — Israel vowed Sunday to prevent a ship carrying a dozen pro-Palestinian activists and some aid from reaching the Gaza Strip, saying its military would use “any means necessary” to prevent the vessel from breaching an Israeli naval blockade of the coastal enclave.
The civilian ship, called the Madleen, is operating under the auspices of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international grassroots campaign that opposes Israel’s nearly two-decade-long blockade of Gaza. The ship set sail from Sicily on June 1.
The boat’s tracker showed it off the coast of Egypt on Sunday, and the coalition said it was sailing “just 160 nautical miles from Gaza.” The passengers include Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament.
Israel imposed the blockade