Image source, Government of Malta/Reuters

The intercepting of the Madleen today comes one month after the Conscience, another Gaza-bound ship run by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ended up on fire off the coast of Malta.

Activists said the ship had been struck by Israeli drones in international waters on 2 May. Israel said it was looking into the attack.

The NGO said that incident "left four civilian volunteers injured and the ship disabled and burning in European waters". The Maltese government said everyone aboard the ship was safe and the fire was brought under control.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg had been part of a group meant to board the ship during its journey to Gaza. She ended up on the Madleen, which set sail for Gaza last Friday.

“The world’s governments remained silent when Conscience was bombed. Now Israel is testing that silence again,” said Tan Safi, a Freedom Flotilla organiser.

Image source, Getty Images

The team for Rima Hassan, a French Palestinian member of the European Parliament onboard the Madleen, says the crew was "arrested by the Israeli army in international waters" at 02:00 local time (00:00 BST).

"Actions are coming - stay tuned," Hassan's team wrote on her X , external.

In an earlier interview from the boat, Hassan told AFP news agency: "We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid."

Watch these initial moments after what activists onboard the Madleen say was an Israeli interception of the vessel.

In the video, activist Yasemin Acar said "chemicals" had been dropped on the volunteers, adding that it was affecting her eyes.

Before the video ends, she can be heard saying Israeli military had "intercepted" the boat.

Image source, Getty Images

More than two million people in Gaza are at risk of starvation, according to a UN-backed assessment earlier this month.

Israel recently began to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month land blockade, prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US.

But the GHF been mired in controversy, after several deadly incidents took place during its first week of operation.

Dozens of Palestinians have died and hundreds injured trying to get to the distribution centre. Six were killed by Israeli gunfire, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said.

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

Image source, Reuters

Greta Thunberg, 22, is one of the world's best-known climate change campaigners, credited with raising public awareness - especially among young people - about the issue.

In 2018, then aged 15, the Swedish national held the first "School Strike for Climate" outside the parliament in Stockholm. The protest was widely covered, and hundreds of thousands of young people across the world later ed her Fridays For Future strikes.

Ms Thunberg has since been arrested several times for her participation in environmental protests around the world, and fined by the Swedish courts.

Read more about her here.

Image source, Israel Foreign Ministry

The Israel foreign ministry has described the Madleen as a "selfie yacht" of "celebrities".

It says they are "unharmed" after being intercepted and are "safely" making their way to Israel. They are expected to then return to their home countries.

The Israeli department has posted photos and videos on its social media channels of the Freedom Flotilla activists, which include Greta Thunberg, wearing life jackets and being handed food and water.

It criticised the group saying they had "attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid".

"There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies," said the foreign ministry.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned of famine, malnutrition and disease in Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, sca Albanese, is urging boats in the region to continue to challenge Israel's sea blockade around Gaza.

"While Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together - united, they will be unstoppable," Albanese wrote in a post on X.

She also urged the UK government to "urgently seek full clarification" and "secure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew".

Image source, Reuters

Israel recently began allowing limited aid into Gaza after a three-month land blockade.

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

The GHF distributes aid form hubs protected by security contractors and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

While welcoming the move, the UN and some countries have described it as a "drop in the ocean".

"Significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza," the UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said last month, when Israel cleared nine aid trucks to enter Gaza.

Last week, there were a series of deadly incidents on the route to a GHF-run aid distribution site in Gaza. BBC has more on that.

Image source, Screenshot/Freedom Flotilla Coalition

We've now seen videos posted by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organises the Madleen's intended voyage to Gaza.

In what appears to be a pre-recorded message, German activist Yasmine Acar said that she and other activists had been "intercepted at sea and kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces or by one of its allies complicit and actively participating in the genocide of Palestinians".

Over the last few hours, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has posted a series of videos on its Telegram channel featuring pre-recorded messages from the activists aboard the Madleen.

Image source, Reuters

The Madleen set sail on 6 June from Sicily with the goal of reaching Gaza. But it has since been intercepted by Israeli forces, which said the yacht was now "safely making its way to the shores of Israel".

The ship has a crew of 12 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, and Omar Faiad, a French journalist with Al Jazeera.

The remaining are: Yasemin Acar, Baptiste Andre, Thiago Avila, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, Suayb Ordu, Sergio Toribio, Mark van Rennes and Reva Viard.

We're following the apparent blocking of an aid vessel bound for the Gaza Strip by Israel.

Israeli forces boarded the Madleen yacht on Sunday, according to those aboard, as it tried to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among those on the vessel, which was reported to be off the Egyptian coast.

On Sunday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group, which operates the yacht, 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," the group wrote.

Israel's foreign ministry has said the yacht is now "safely making its way to the shores of Israel" and its engers are "expected to return to their home countries".

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.