The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of aid.

Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel after the humanitarian aid ship she was aboard was intercepted by the Israeli military and towed to the port city of Ashdod.The Swedish climate activist was among a 12-person crew on board the Madleen,

With the Gaza death toll rising and entire families obliterated as Israeli forces seek to strike diminishing numbers of Hamas targets, more impassioned appeals for an end to the violence have come from ecclesial and political leaders from around the world.

Israel’s blockade of Gaza may have been partially lifted – and a new US-backed plan to deliver aid has begun. But there are multiple indications that the plight of Gazans is rapidly worsening.

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

GazaRising anger in Gaza fuelled by hunger and desperation to survive could make it dangerous for aid workers to operate, as people struggle and die for food and aid, a senior UN official told The National.

The detained crew of the Gaza-bound aid ship that was intercepted by Israel on Monday morning was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod Monday evening, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.

The company helped design and run a controversial Israeli-backed group that supplanted the work of the United Nations to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.