We're yet to receive official confirmation that the Madleen has reached the Port of Ashdod.

Though the AFP news agency - citing one of its photographers - is reporting that the ship has docked.

Recent images, like the one below and that we shared a little earlier, appear to show the boat approaching the Israeli port.

We'll let you know when we hear anything further.

Image source, Reuters

As we wait for the Madleen to dock in Ashdod, we can bring you video now showing the moment the yacht was intercepted.

It was taken by an onboard security camera and was provided by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which is the activist group which organised the boat's journey.

Our world news correspondent Joe Inwood analysed footage from this camera earlier today - you can see his description of what it shows here.

A warning: This video contains flashing images.

We've just received the below image from Reuters news agency, which says it shows the Madleen approaching the Port of Ashdod in Israel.

Image source, Reuters

Sweden's foreign ministry has confirmed it is in with Israeli authorities in a statement to the Reuters news agency

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is one of the activists on the Madleen.

“Should the need for consular arise," the statement says, the Israeli embassy and the ministry "will assess how we can best help the Swedish citizen/Greta Thunberg resolve her situation".

We still do not know the location of the Madleen or the boat's crew after it was intercepted by Israel.

We first heard the vessel had been blocked just after 05:30 local time (03:30 BST). It was understood to be sailing near the Egyptian coast at the time - this is what we know about the moment it was intercepted.

The latest

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is "urgently" working to locate the crew.

The Israel's foreign ministry said at about 15:00 BST that the yacht was "continuing its journey toward an Israeli port".

The background

The boat was carrying a small amount of aid and bound for Gaza, with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg among 12 on board. Its journey was organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group, which says it was "a peaceful act of civil resistance" against Israel's blockade of Gaza.

The Israeli foreign ministry says the boat is "safely" making its way to Israel and that the crew will be deported. "There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies," it said. Just after 06:00 BST, the defence minister said the boat would be taken to the port city of Ashdod.

Hamas called the interception a "flagrant violation of international law".

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says aid is desperately needed and accuses Israel of genocide - a claim Israel has frequently denied.

We've got a brief explainer on the aid situation in Gaza here.

Image source, Reuters

A convoy of around 1,000 people is on its way to Gaza from Tunisia to "break the siege" on the Palestinian territory, according to activists.

Organised by Tunisian Coordination of t Action for Palestine, the nine-bus convoy is hoping to carry out a "symbolic act" by breaking through Israel's blockade on Gaza.

The Soumond convoy, which means "steadfastness" in Arabic, is aiming to get to Rafah in southern Gaza by the end of the week.

The group will travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, but Cairo has not yet provided the necessary permits for travelling through Egypt.

Co-ordinator Jawaher Channa says they will have to see what happens when they get to Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza.

She adds they are not expecting to have any issues crossing Libya, as its "people have historically ed the Palestinian cause".

Adelah, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, says it has sent an urgent letter to the country's authorities "demanding information on the whereabouts of the 12 activists forcibly detained after Israeli naval forces unlawfully seized the Madleen".

It says that it will pursue legal action to secure the activists' safety and release.

The group adds that the yacht never entered Israeli territorial waters and that it never intended to. Adaleh says Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority to seize the ship in international waters and the Madleen "was headed toward the territorial waters of the State of Palestine".

"Adalah demands the immediate disclosure of the activists’ location and legal status, and their access to legal counsel to enable legal representation before Israeli authorities and tribunals," the statement concludes.

Image source, Reuters

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is "urgently" working to locate the crew of the Madleen.

A press officer for the campaign group, Hay Sha Wiya, says: "According to the Israeli Immigration Authority, they are not in its custody."

Wiya says repeated attempts have also been made to Israeli military officials since the early hours of the this morning.

The BBC has not been able to whether the immigration authority has denied that the crew are in its custody - we have ed the Israeli government for comment.

Israel's foreign ministry says the boat is "continuing its journey toward an Israeli port" - see our last post for details.

Israel's foreign ministry says the Madleen - which it refers to as a "selfie yacht" - "carrying Greta Thunberg and the other so-called 'celebrities' is continuing its journey toward an Israeli port".

In a post on X, it adds: "Upon arrival, arrangements will be made for their return to their respective home countries."

Amnesty International has issued a statement describing the flotilla's mission as "indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade".

The human rights organisation goes on to say that Israel has an "international obligation to ensure safe access to food and essential supplies for Gaza's civilians", and that its actions show "chilling contempt" for international law.

"Activists would not have had to risk their lives if Israel’s allies had turned their words into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza", the group's leader Agnes Callamard says.

Sophie Williams
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer has given a press conference where he referred to the flotilla.

He says the Israeli forces towing the yacht have given the 12 activists on board plenty to eat and drink - and adds that the group will be returned home in a short time.

"On the subject of aid, the yacht had a meagre cargo but of course it will be sent into Gaza," he says.

"To poor Greta, we say, who is really feeding Gaza and who is feeding their own ego.

"When it comes to this flotilla, it wasn’t a flotilla, it was a selfie yacht. It was Instagram activism."

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is working "to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza" and that the Madleen was carrying a symbolic amount of aid, including rice and baby formula.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent

The 12 pro-Palestinians activists detained after the Madleen was intercepted by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza will be deported to their home countries, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

Among those on board is the Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, six French nationals including a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament and citizens from Brazil, Spain and Turkey.

’s President Emmanuel Macron requested that the French nationals aboard the boat "be allowed to return to as soon as possible", a presidential official said.

Turkey, meanwhile, condemned the interception as a "heinous attack" in international waters.

Israel had dismissed the mission of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as a provocation, calling it a “selfie yacht”.

The group had planned to deliver a symbolic amount of supplies to Gaza, to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis there because of Israel’s restrictions on aid.

There was no surprise the boat was intercepted, as Israel had blocked similar efforts in the past.

Image source, Reuters

The Madleen appears to be ed to the UK, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic, which lists it under its formal name, the Barcarole.

Being UK-flagged means the boat is subject to British laws and regulations, and falls under the protection of the UK.

Earlier the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, sca Albanese, urged the UK government to "urgently seek full clarification" and "secure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew".

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Pictures are coming through of a small demonstration forming in Ashdod in Israel, ahead of the expected arrival of the Madleen.

The activists, who can be seen carrying signs and waving Palestinian flags, are demanding the halting of Israeli attacks and the blockade on Gaza.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Downing Street says it wants to see Israel resolve the situation around the detention of the Madleen yacht "safely with restraint, in line with international humanitarian law".

The Prime Minister's official spokesperson tells reporters at a Downing Street briefing that "we have made clear our position in relation to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The PM has called it appalling and intolerable."

"We have made it very clear we must get more aid into Gaza", they say, adding that " the unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza is critical".

Image source, Getty Images

Israel has recently begun to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month blockade.

It is prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US but widely condemned by humanitarian groups.

The UN's human rights chief Volker Türk said last week that Palestinians were being presented with the "grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available".

As the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen writes, the GHF system means that the people must travel through a war zone in the ruins of southern Gaza to collect a box of rations. Distribution seems to be chaotic, and so far has repeatedly broken down into a free for all.

The GHF has more than once paused its operations to deal with overcrowding and safety concerns.

And there have been a number of deadly incidents near aid points set up by the new organisation. At the weekend, at least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire as they were heading to get food.

Last week, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross told the BBC that Gaza had become worse than "hell on earth".

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

Image source, Freedom Flotilla Coalition

Bright lights were flashing and screeching noises caused some to cover their ears the moment the Madleen was boarded, according to footage captured by an onboard security camera.

A voice, which appears to belong to Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, can be heard repeatedly telling the crew to “ditch your phones… phones in the water”. Shortly after, someone can be seen hurling a device off the side of the boat. A laptop is also thrown overboard.

He tells everyone to “assume positions”, before giving a thumbs up to someone outside the boat. It is not clear who he is signalling to, although it would appear to be someone on another vessel.

He can then be seen saying into a phone: “We are being boarded now… it’s very important you know, no one is wounded now. No one was wounded when they boarded our boat.”

A woman’s voice says: “If anything happens to us, this is a war crime.”

The mood onboard appears calm, with the crew’s hands in the air.

Three and a half minutes after the start of the released recording, another boat appears in the back of the shot. Another voice can be heard saying “calm down… calm down everyone”. It is not clear who is speaking.

Ten seconds later, Israeli military personnel can be seen walking onto the boat, crouching down and talking to one of the crew. Shortly after, the footage ends.

This almost four minutes of footage was put online by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. It is not clear if the transmission stopped at this point or if only a section was released.

What is clear is that the crew of the boat were keen to make it clear they did not want to risk physical confrontation with the special forces who were boarding them.

French officials say the country will work to ensure the French citizens on the Madleen yacht will be returned as soon as possible, the AFP news agency reports.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says will work to "facilitate their swift return", it adds.

AFP also cites an unnamed official who says President Emmanuel Macron has requested for those on the yacht to "be allowed to return to as swiftly as possible."

There are believed to be a number of French citizens aboard the boat - including Rima Hassan, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and is now a member of the European Parliament

Emily Atkinson
Live reporter

In case you're just ing us, we're waiting for word on the docking of a small aid yacht - the Madleen - that has been intercepted by Israel while on its way to Gaza.

The boat's current location is still not clear, nor are the time and place it will dock, following conflicting reports from Israeli authorities and local media.

We first heard of the blocking of the vessel just after 05:30 local time (03:30 BST). It was understood to have been sailing near the Egyptian coast at the time.

The yacht's operator, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group - of which activist Greta Thunberg is a part - posted a photo showing people in life jackets sitting with their hands up on Telegram.

"SOS! The volunteers on Madleen have been kidnapped by Israeli forces," it said.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli foreign ministry said the "unharmed" crew were now "safely" making their way to Israel.

And, just after 08:00 local time, Israel's defence minister said the intercepted vessel would be taken, along with its crew, to the Israeli port city of Ashdod.

We had been keeping an eye on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's tracker, but the last live update was recorded around 03:00 local time.

We're closely monitoring for updates of the ship's whereabouts. Stay with us.

Image source, EPA

Twelve people have been aboard the Madleen since it set sail from Sicily on 1 June, including:

• Greta Thunberg - Swedish climate change activist
• Rima Hassan - Born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, now a member of the European Parliament
• Yasemin Acar - German activist born and raised to Kurdish parents from Turkey
• Thiago Avila - Coordinator of Freedom Flotilla Brazil and a member of the Steering Committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
• Yanis Mhamdi - Journalist and director at Blast, a French independent media outlet

• Omar Faiad - al-Jazeera's Mubasher correspondent
• Sergio Toribio - from marine conservation NGO Sea Shepherd

Also onboard are French doctor and activist Baptiste Andre, Turkish activist Suayb Ordu, Dutch engineering student Mark van Rennes, French citizen Reva Viard, and Pascal Maurieras, who has participated in other Freedom Flotilla missions before.