The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the passengers are "in safety and unharmed".
"They have been given sandwiches and water. The show is over," the department writes on X and refers to the ship as "selfie yacht", a mocking comment on the activists' presence on social media.
A picture shows a soldier holding out a sandwich to Greta Thunberg under the text "in safety and with good morale".
According to the activists' posts on social media, boarding was supposed to have taken place at 2 a.m. Swedish time on the night before Monday.
If you see this video, we have been stopped and kidnapped on international waters by the Israeli occupation forces or forces supporting Israel, says Greta Thunberg in a clip published by the organization behind the voyage, Freedom Flotilla, on X.
The ship was expected to reach Gaza on Monday.
Will be sent home
According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ship and what is described as "celebrities" will now be escorted to the port city of Ashdod in Israel instead. The twelve activists will then be sent back to their home countries.
"The small amount of humanitarian aid" on board will be transported to Gaza "via real humanitarian channels," the department said.
Before boarding, Israel's navy was in direct contact with the activists and urged them to change course.
On social media, the activists have also said they were surrounded by Israeli drones and reported that a white substance was sprayed on the ship.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz gave an order on Sunday for the military to stop the ship Madleens continued journey.
Now he says in a statement that the activists, upon arrival in Israel, will get to see the 43-minute film that Israel previously compiled about the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, writes The Times of Israel.
"A crime"
Mahmud Abu-Odeh, spokesperson for a German branch of Freedom Flotilla, said on Sunday to TT that it "would be a crime against international law to stop Madleen from reaching Gaza".
Madleen set sail from Sicily on June 1 and has since been located outside Egypt's coast. The activists had humanitarian aid on board, including diapers, breast milk substitutes, flour, rice, and medical equipment.
