Sweden on Monday appeared to distance itself from Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, carrying Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, as Amnesty International called for the release of the vessel’s activists from Israeli custody.

The British-flagged yacht Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, had departed from Sicily on June 1 and had hoped to reach Gaza later on Sunday, when the interception occurred, the group said on its Telegram account.

Among those on board the boat are Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard addressed the status of the 12 activists illegally taken into Israeli custody, emphasising that Sweden’s government long advised against travel to Gaza and the activists bore “clear personal responsibility”.

“The government’s current assessment is that the activists are not in danger and there is no need for consular support,” she was quoted as saying in comments carried by Swedish media.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International called for the release and protection of activists who were onboard the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen seized by the Israeli military.

In a statement posted on X, Amnesty said, “By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen, Israel has once again ignored its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip.”

“The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission,” the statement said, adding, “They must be released immediately and unconditionally. They must also be protected from torture and other ill-treatment.”

Amnesty further stated, “As the occupying power, Israel has an international obligation to ensure civilians in Gaza have sufficient and safe access to food, medicine, and other supplies indispensable to their survival.

“Instead, and as part of its calculated effort to inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life designed to bring about their physical destruction, it has consistently and deliberately impeded the provision of impartial humanitarian assistance for civilians in desperate need.”

The statement also said that Madleen’s mission was “a powerful symbol of solidarity with besieged, starved and suffering Palestinians amid persistent international inaction” and also “an indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade”.

The activists would not have risked their lives if Israel’s allies had “translated their rhetoric into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza”, it added.

“States must act now or risk complicity in Israel’s grave violations of Palestinians’ rights,” the statement added.

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai said the flotilla was carrying baby food and aid. “The Israeli government is starving children by day while bombing their homes by night. The stoppage and detention of activists on the Madleen is an act of cowardice by Israel. Preventing food and medical supplies from reaching people in need is a violation of international law,” she said in a post on X.

She demanded that Israel must release all the activists and allow aid to Gaza immediately, commit to a permanent ceasefire and let Palestinians live in dignity and peace.

Earlier today, the Israeli military had seized the Madleen, towing it to Israel, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X, adding that the activists will be deported to their countries.

The ministry said that the vessel “is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries”.

It said earlier that “the maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorised vessels under a legal naval blockade, consistent with international law”.

“Humanitarian aid is delivered regularly and effectively via different channels and routes and is transferred through established distribution mechanisms,” it added.

The FFC said earlier on Monday that Israeli soldiers had kidnapped the activists who were on the Madleen.

Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel attempting to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, the FFC had said earlier in the day.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.

“Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza,” she wrote on X.

“As the Madleen was reportedly intercepted and seized by Israeli forces in int’l waters, the UK gov must urgently seek full clarification and secure the immediate release of the vessel & its crew,” she said in a separate post.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla had also said that quadcopters surrounded the Madleen and were “spraying it with a white paint-like substance”, Al Jazeera reported.

Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, which is supporting the FFC, told Al Jazeera that some people on board reported that their “eyes were burning” after the white substance was dropped on the aid boat.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing the Israeli Navy communicating with the Madleen over a loudspeaker, urging it to change course, shortly before the FFC confirmed that Israeli forces had boarded the Gaza-bound aid ship.

“The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade,” a soldier said. “If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you are able to do so through the (Israeli) port of Ashdod.”

Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Qatar-based Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, told Al Jazeera that the “absolute silence” from the Madleen crew members’ governments reflects Israeli impunity.

“If any other state had sent its military forces to seize a small civilian boat carrying 12 unarmed civilians to deliver food, baby formula and crutches to a besieged population, it would immediately be recognised for the act of state piracy that it indisputably is,” Rabbani said.

“But for Israel, there’s always an exception.”

“This is not only an act of state piracy. It’s in direct violation of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” Rabbani added, noting that the court has emphasised “the need for the unhindered delivery of humanitarian supplies to the besieged population of the Gaza Strip.”

‘Until the last minute’

The organisers of the Madleen’s voyage said on Saturday that they had reached Egyptian waters and were nearing Gaza, where the Israeli invasion of Gaza entered its 21st month.

“Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade of Gaza, which is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas — a murderous terrorist group holding our hostages and committing war crimes,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said a day earlier.

“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or support terror groups — by sea, air or land,” he added.

The coalition responded in a statement on X, saying it expected “interception and an attack from Israel at any moment” and calling for the governments of those on board to protect them.

The post added that the Madleen is 160 nautical miles from Gaza and that jamming “briefly disrupted our location, but our tracker is functioning again”.

Meanwhile, activists aboard the vessel have said they will continue their journey “until the last minute”.

“We’ll stay mobilised until the last minute — until Israel cuts the internet and networks,” European parliament member Rima Hassan told AFP from the boat. “There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid.”

Hassan voiced concern over the lack of official response from countries whose citizens are part of the crew.

“No state has responded. The message being sent is that Israel is being allowed to act with impunity, without any guarantee of protection for us,” she added.

In a post on X, Hassan said that the activists have “less than 24 hours” before they are detained by Israeli authorities.

“When we are no longer able to communicate with you, I’m counting on you to continue the mobilisation that has been so valuable to us throughout this journey,” she wrote.

Nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands are on the boat.

“We’re not scared of them,” said German human rights activist Yasemin Acar, also on board. “The message they have been sending us, that we cannot come closer, is not making us step back.”

On Sunday, French Minister for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin said that France was obliged to ensure “consular protection” for its nationals aboard the Madleen.

“The six French citizens on this boat are entitled to consular protection,” he told a state TV channel.

On May 27, Israel began implementing a controversial plan to distribute aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, bypassing UN oversight. Palestinians have denounced the move as a coercive tactic to force displacement from northern to southern Gaza.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the death toll from the American-Israeli aid distribution sites had risen to 125, with 736 wounded and nine missing since May 27.

According to the office, 13 people were killed and 153 injured on Sunday alone in two separate incidents near those locations.

On Sunday, the health ministry in Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza invasion had reached 54,880, the majority being civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable.

The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.