Tel Aviv /PNN/

 The Israeli navy seized the Gaza-bound ship "Madelin" early Monday as it approached what Israel claims to be its territorial waters, arresting its crew and 12 international activists on board. The vessel was part of the Freedom Flotilla mission, which aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activists aboard the "Madelin" were "abducted by Israeli forces" and contact with the vessel was lost at dawn. The group called on foreign ministries to intervene urgently to ensure the safety and release of the detainees.

Israeli reports confirmed that elite naval commandos from the Shayetet 13 unit boarded the vessel at sea and diverted it to the port of Ashdod. No injuries were reported on either side.

The ship had been under aerial surveillance, and activists reported that drones sprayed an unidentified white substance on the deck in what they described as acts of intimidation. The Israeli military also reportedly jammed the vessel’s communication signals prior to the raid.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the ship, which was en route to Gaza, was "safely heading towards Israeli shores" and that the activists would be "returned to their home countries." The ministry had earlier claimed the boat entered a "closed military zone" and accused the participants of using a humanitarian guise for media propaganda.

"The maritime area off Gaza’s coast is closed to maritime traffic. The yacht claims to carry aid but is merely a publicity stunt," the ministry said in a statement, urging that aid be delivered through “existing mechanisms rather than provocative acts.”

French MEP Rima Hassan posted a video from the deck before the interception, where alarm sirens could be heard. Activist Thiago Ávila, also on board, said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the boat and later confirmed that drones had sprayed passengers with a white liquid designed to intimidate and mark the vessel.

Ávila stated that the Israeli boats initially approached near Egyptian waters without issuing warnings or making contact before eventually retreating.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned the seizure, stating that "Madelin posed no security threat" and that Israel “had no legal authority to stop it in international waters.”

Albanese said five Israeli navy vessels had surrounded the ship and that the captain instructed passengers to remain calm, wear life jackets, and refrain from resisting. The crew informed Israeli forces that the ship was carrying humanitarian aid and expressed their intention to disembark peacefully.

Israeli media reported late Sunday that Shayetet 13 forces had been preparing for a possible boarding of the vessel as it approached Gaza’s shores. Channel 14 said Israeli security authorities had approved a "quiet operation" to seize the ship and deport its passengers swiftly by air to their countries of origin.

Public broadcaster Kan 11 reported that the commandos had rehearsed a "non-violent boarding" of the ship and expected the operation to be closely monitored and potentially broadcast live around the world.

A senior Israeli security official was quoted saying, "We will take control of the ship non-violently, arrest the passengers and deport them the same night." No exact timeline or full list of the participants was provided.

The Madelin is the latest in a series of attempts by international solidarity activists to breach the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since 2007. 

Israel maintains that its naval blockade is a security measure, while critics view it as collective punishment of the territory’s more than two million residents.