Background
Conditions in Gaza have continued to deteriorate since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 followed by Israeli bombardment and reoccupation.[1]
The conflict has led to the forced displacement of 1.9 million out of 2.2 million Palestinian within the Gaza Strip. Civilian infrastructure has been severely damaged: hospitals, schools, water, electricity facilities have been hit and according to the World Food Programme (WFP) severe hunger levels rose from 38% to 56% within just 12 days of the conflict’s onset.[2]
Currently, UNICEF reports that more than 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition. While following the 2025 Integrated Food Insecurity (IPC) report, 470,000 people in Gaza are still facing catastrophic hunger, (IPC Phase 5) and the entire population is now experiencing acute food shortage.[3]
Despite ongoing appeals from the international community and the recent United Nations (UN) Gaza ceasefire resolution, humanitarian agencies report that a major problem has emerged concerning the blockade of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Israel appears to have restricted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, limiting aid deliveries, border crossings and access points for months on end.[4] UNRWA, the Agency for Palestinian Refugees, has reported that:
“[nearly] 3.000 UNRWA trucks of lifesaving aid were ready to enter Gaza, but Israeli authorities continue to block the delivery of these supplies.”
This highlights the ongoing struggle to deliver humanitarian aid to this part of land due to continued strict border control, as has been the case most recently. [5]
The Interception of Madleen in International Waters
On 9 June 2025, a UK-flagged ship carrying aid to Gaza was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters about 200 km off Israel’s territorial jurisdiction. The Madleen ship had departed from Sicily on 1 June as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, with 12 unarmed international activists on board with the intention of delivering essential food and medical supplies, challenging Israel’s blockade on Gaza.[6] Rima Hassan, a European Parliament member who joined the mission stated:
“I am aboard Madleen because silence is not neutrality—it is complicity […] This ship is not just carrying aid, it is carrying a demand: End the blockade. End the genocide.”
Similarly, Greta Thumberg said explained her decision to take part in the humanitarian effort:
“Every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine.”[7]
The Israeli military operation conducted in the middle of night, however, appears to have halted this peaceful mission, interrupting the Madleen’s journey.
After drones repeatedly hovered over the Madleen, the mission was stopped when Israeli forces boarded the ship, taking all 12 passengers hostage. All lines of communication were cut. The crew was forced to put on orange life jackets and gather in a small area of the ship. They were ordered to raise their hands and throw their phones into the water, while someone was heard telling them to keep calm.
Due to this blockade, the aid supplies on board were seized and the team of activists was detained and obligated by Israeli forces to sail to the port of Ashdod – Israel, from which they were later repatriated.
One day after their detention, four of them were deported after signing an order that claimed they had illegally entered Israel. The remaining eight were held for between four and five days, as they had refused to sign the deportation order, according to Adalah – the first Palestinian Arab-run legal center in Israel.
Following the example of the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, a similar raid that sparked international backlash and during which some people were shot, the mission was ultimately declared over without achieving its humanitarian goal.[9]
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the boarding of the ship could be considered illegal, as it was carried out with force against an unarmed civilian crew and ended with the confiscation of humanitarian cargo. The vessel was, in effect, seized, the crew was detained and repatriated to their countries of origin in a manner that, according to many observers, resembled a military action against a terrorist threat rather than an attempt to stop a peaceful humanitarian mission.[10]
In response, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that he“had ordered the Israel Defence Force (IDF) to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza.” Addressing Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the 11 other volunteers from Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey – including the franco-palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, the Minister affirmed that “Israel will not allow anyone to break the blockade of Gaza, which is intended to impede weapons from reaching Hamas.”[12]
Regarding the confiscated supplies, Katz further claimed that the “tiny amount of aid would be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels”. However, while the mission was purely symbolic and aimed at drawing international attention to ongoing violations in Gaza, the problem remains with the overall flow of humanitarian aid, which continues to be severely restricted.[12]
The Violation of International Humanitarian law
The illegality of this pushback operation carried out by Israeli military forces must be examined within the framework of international law, the Geneva Conventions, as well as the international humanitarian law. The principles established by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which guarantees the freedom of navigation particularly in international waters beyond the territorial limits of any state.[13] In this context, there are a few specific expectations under which a state may lawfully stop a foreign vessel in international waters: these includes piracy, slave trading, unauthorised broadcasting, cases involving stateless vessels, or situations where the state is enforcing a lawful blockade or acting in self-defence during an armed attack under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Moreover, although a naval blockade in international waters is not necessarily illegal during armed conflict or war — as emphasised by the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994) — it must meet several legal conditions.[14] Specifically it must allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in a blockaded territory.
The obligation to ensure humanitarian access is reinforced by Rule 55 of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) codification of the International Humanitarian Law, which provides that:
“the parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.”
While Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention requires states to allow:
“the free passage of all consignments of essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases.”[15]
More broadly, the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of conflict, along with the 1977 and 2005 Additional Protocols, underscores the obligation to protect civilians, as well as humanitarian personnel delivering aid during armed conflict. As such, individuals aboard the Madleen, whose intentions were peaceful and humanitarian, remain protected civilians under international law and must not be treated as combatants or detained arbitrarily.[16] In support of this, videos and images released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition clearly depict the crew sitting peacefully with their hands raised as the Israeli military boarded the vessel.[17]
Humanitarian Impact on Gaza
The unprecedented escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine is devastating countless lives. Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza has led to the death of over 54,000 Palestinian and injured more than 125,000 between 2023 and June 2025. In addition, many more have been forced to survive without essential goods such as food, clean water, medicine and other supplies.
Israel’s intensified blockade of Gaza has evolved into the militarisation of aid distribution, and has severely restricted the entry of humanitarian aid and assistance, leaving the population along the Gaza Strip struggling for survival.[18]
By blocking the entry of supplies, Israel continues to undermine the lives of Palestinians, reducing them to a slow physical destruction —reported Human Rights Watch.[19] While Amnesty International, in December 2024 statement, kept accusing Israel that all this “amounts to acts of genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.”[20]
According to Erika Guevara Rosas of Amnesty International:
“Israel has completely cut off the supply of humanitarian aid and other items indispensable to the survival of the population… to collectively punish over two million civilians.”
Her remarks highlight once again the severe lack of access to basic necessities for Palestinian in Gaza —a reality reflected in the words of a displaced person who said:
“I don’t want my child to die hungry. We just want to fill our children’s stomachs.”[21]
Conclusion
The interception of the Madleen vassel, named “the selfie yacht of the celebrities” by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, serves as yet another example of collective punishment for the Palestinian population. Through its ongoing illegal blockade, Israel has systematically and deliberately restricted the entry of food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid into the occupied Gaza Strip. Furthermore, humanitarian organisations continue to face serious difficulties in delivering aid supplies and providing assistance to the population in need.
According to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres “Gaza is a killing field, and civilians are trapped in an endless cycle of death”.[22] Similarly, Antoine Renard, a senior WFP official, stated that “Humanitarian assistance must continue to flow into Gaza”, in order to guarantee the dignity of people’s lives. [23]