The Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship, the Madleen, was carrying activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg when Israeli forces boarded the vessel this afternoon, organisers said.
The yacht was trying to break the naval blockade and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza.
News agency Agence France-Presse said it had lost contact with the activists on board.
Israel had vowed to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Navy had directed the boat to change course as it approached “a restricted area”.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the ministry shared a photo of Thunberg and said she was currently on the way to Israel and was “safe and in good spirits”.
“All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over,” it posted.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X he had instructed the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to show the activists video of the October 7 attacks and the “atrocities they [Hamas] committed against women, the elderly, and children”, a translation read.
Ngarewa-Packer said communications of the Madleen had been cut and there was no knowing if the crew are safe and unharmed.
“This is the latest act in a horrific string of violence against civilians trying to access meagre aid,” she said.
Te Pāti Māori has called on the New Zealand Government to:
- Demand safe release of all crew
- Demand safe passage and access of aid to Gaza
- Label the “blockade and starvation campaign” as genocide
- Sanction Israel for crimes against humanity
The Green Party echoed this, continuing its calls for the Government to “step up” and sanction Israel.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said “weaponising critical humanitarian aid must stop”.
“Aotearoa New Zealand cannot remain a bystander to the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza,” she said in a statement.
“I was on a peace flotilla for Gaza almost 10 years ago and it pains me to still see the need for one all these years later.
“If we stand for human rights and peace and justice, our Parliament must act. The New Zealand Government must sanction Israel and can do so by supporting Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters at a press conference that Israel’s impediment of aid into Gaza was unacceptable.
“What we are seeing there is utterly unacceptable,” he said.
Israel should release politically neutral aid and allow for the free flow of aid into Gaza, he said.
“Israel needs to release that immediately.”
- additional reporting AFP
