Israeli forces intercept Freedom Flotilla activist ship heading towards Gaza - including British citizen and ex-United Nations official on board
By Sophie Carlin and Shannon McGuigan
Daily Mail
Jul 26, 2025
Israeli forces have intercepted a Freedom Flotilla activist ship heading towards Gaza (pictured) - including a British citizen and ex-United Nations official on board
Israeli forces have intercepted a Freedom Flotilla activist ship heading towards Gaza - including a British citizen and ex-United Nations official on board.
A livestream broadcast by the pro-Palestinian campaign group showed the soldiers taking control of the 'Handala' vessel on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the 19 activists onboard could be seen sitting on the ship's deck, holding their hands up and whistling the Italian anti-fascist song 'Bella Ciao'.
Three live video feeds of the scene, broadcast online, were cut minutes later.
The Handala had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents.
An online tracking tool set up to plot the boat's path showed its position as around 30 miles from the Egyptian coast and roughly 60 miles west of Gaza when intercepted.
Among its passengers is British citizen and ex-United Nations development officer Chloe Ludden, a seemingly pre-prepared video of whom the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) posted on its X account late Saturday night.
Captioned, 'SOS! The crew on "Handala" have been kidnapped by Israeli Occupation forces', she says in the clip on the social media platform: 'Hello everyone.
A livestream broadcast by the pro-Palestinian campaign group showed the soldiers taking control of the 'Handala' vessel on Saturday (pictured)
'My name is Chloe Ludden, from the United Kingdom. If you are seeing this video, we have been intercepted at sea and I have been abducted by the Israeli occupation forces or forces of a country complicit in Israel's genocide of Palestinians.
'I appeal to my comrades, friends and family, to everyone, to please put pressure on the United Kingdom's government to demand my release and the release of everyone onboard the "Handala" as soon as possible. Thank you.'
The post calls for followers to email and tag the British Foreign Office.
In another message on social media, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition declared: '"Handala" has been intercepted and boarded illegally by Israeli forces whilst in international waters.'
There was no immediate confirmation of the operation from the Israeli military.
But earlier in the day it had announced it would enforce 'the legal maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip'.
Posts of a similar format to Ms Ludden's were made for each of the passengers on the Handala, which includes European politicians and two Al Jazeera journalists.
It comes after the British national posted to her own X account on Tuesday: 'Currently on the Handala Flotilla sailing to Gaza after resigning from the UN.
The 19 activists onboard could be seen sitting on the ship's deck, holding their hands up and whistling the Italian anti-fascist song 'Bella Ciao'. Pictured: The live feeds of the scene
Three live video feeds (pictured) of the scene, broadcast online, were cut minutes later
'We must stop asking for permission to enter a death camp. I did not leave the United Nations to abandon its founding principles. I left to live them, to act on them.
'The UN Charter stands for the dignity, freedom, and security of all peoples. So why, when these very rights are being obliterated, do we still see no meaningful response?
'This is a genocide. That is not just rhetoric - it is supported by reports, testimonies, and lived reality.
'And yet, no real consequences have followed. My resignation is not an act of walking away. It is an act of stepping up.
'Because human dignity is not protected by procedures alone, but by personal and institutional courage.
'When we carry food and medicine to Palestinians in Gaza and are told to turn back, it's not just a failure of politics. It's a failure of our moral architecture.
'This flotilla is not a threat. And Gaza is not a "crisis" to be managed. Palestine is a mirror - reflecting both our humanity and the failure of our institutions to uphold it.
'To those still within the United Nations and other bodies: This responsibility is not only for activists, for those outside. You hold tools. You have a voice.
The Handala had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents. Pictured: Israeli forces intercept the Handala ship
'Stop waiting for the perfect mandate to do what is already right.
'Neutrality in the face of mass death is not diplomacy. It is abandonment. Let Gaza live. Let the mirror change us.'
Ms Ludden previously worked as a scientist for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's body for the science around climate change.
Two French MPs, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala, were among those detained on the Handala on Saturday.
Their party leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon of France Unbowed (LFI), condemned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu.
'Netanyahu's thugs boarded Handala. They attack 21 unarmed people in territorial waters where they have no right.
'A kidnapping in which two French parliamentarians are victims', he posted on X.
Mr Melenchon demanded the French government take action.
An online tracking tool set up to plot the boat's path showed its position as around 30 miles from the Egyptian coast and roughly 60 miles west of Gaza when intercepted. Pictured: The three live feeds of the Handala
Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist who had been onboard the last FFC boat sent to Gaza, the Madleen, posted about the Handala's interception late on Saturday evening.
He said: 'The Handala has just been illegally intercepted by the Zionist entity of Israel while carrying baby formula to starving children.'
Gaza is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with the UN and NGOs warning of an imminent famine.
The Handala's crew said in a post on X they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.
The Madleen was intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
It carried 12 campaigners on board, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. These activists were eventually expelled by Israel.
The interception of the Handala comes after Israel's military said air drops of aid will begin on Saturday night in Gaza and humanitarian corridors will be established for UN convoys.
It has yet to outline when the corridors would open or where - but added it is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas.
The Madleen (pictured) was intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod
It carried 12 campaigners on board, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. These activists were eventually expelled by Israel. Pictured: Passengers on the Madleen putting their hands up
Gaza's population of more than two million people is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials after some 21 months of war - particularly after Israel enacted a more than two-month-long blockade of the embattled Strip from March until May.
Previously, the UN condemned Israel's 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza, labelling it a war crime.
And on Monday, the UK, France and more than twenty other Western-aligned countries issued labelling Israel's operations 'unacceptable'.
It comes after the UN's human rights office reported Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food at aid distribution points since the US - and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - started its operations in late May.
GHF rejected the statistics, describing them as 'false and exaggerated statistics' from the UN.
An anonymous Israeli security official claimed Hamas were responsible for fabricating 'cynical' reports of mass starvation in Gaza to The Times of Israel.
Now, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed in a call with French and German counterparts the UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance.
In emergency talks held with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the leaders agreed it would be 'vital' to ensure 'robust plans' for an 'urgently-needed ceasefire'.
Palestinians gather to receive food in Khan Yunis, Gaza amid shortages of aid
Smoke rises over Khan Yunis after an Israeli attack on southern Gaza, on July 22, 2025
Palestinian boy Mosab Al-Debs, 14, who is malnourished according to medics, lies on a bed at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, July 22, 2025
'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance', a Downing Street spokesperson said.
But the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and screensmoke' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will.
'Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.'
Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation.
They have warned they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'.
Mr Lazzarini also said airdrops can be dangerous as they can fall on civilians and being able to drive aid through is more effective and safer.
'Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,' he said. 'It is a distraction and screen smoke.'
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 23, 2025
Injured Palestinian kids are being moved to safe places after Israeli airstrike in Gaza Strip on July 25
Thousands of Palestinians struggling with hunger in Gaza flock to the Zakim area in the north of the region to receive aid in Gaza on July 22, 2025
No 10 said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'.
It added once proposals had been 'worked up', it will seek to advance them with other key partners.
But Downing Street's recent statement made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September.
The Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise Palestine's sovereignty, with around 221 MPs from across the political spectrum signing a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week.
It comes as Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 53 people on Friday night into Saturday, with most shot dead while seeking aid, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service.
Israeli gunfire was reported twice within hours close to the Zikim crossing, and least a dozen people were killed while waiting for aid trucks in the first incident, staff at a Shifa hospital said.
Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat' and it was not aware of any casualties.
A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from aid trucks.
Smoke rises after an explosion in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 22, 2025
The United Nations has estimated nearly 100,000 women and children in Gaza are approaching malnutrition
Palestinians carrying pans, gather to receive hot meals, distributed by a charity organization in Gaza City, where residents are struggling to access food due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and attacks in Gaza City, Gaza on July 23, 2025
But as they neared, they realised it was Israel's tanks - and the army began to open fire, killing several people including his uncle, he said.
'We went because there is no food... and nothing was distributed', he said.
Israeli forces also killed at least 11 people and wounded 120 others when they fired toward crowds who tried to get food from an entering UN convoy on Saturday evening.
'We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,' Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa hospital said.
There was no immediate Israeli military comment.
Elsewhere, those killed in strikes included four people in an apartment building in Gaza City, hospital staff and the ambulance service said.
Another Israeli strike killed at least eight, including four children, in a crowded tent camp of Muwasi in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Nasser hospital.
Elsewhere in Khan Younis, Israeli forces opened fire and killed at least nine people trying to get aid entering Gaza through the Morag corridor, according to the hospital's morgue records.
Harrowing scenes among crowds at aid points have shown desperate women and children pleading for food
A child eats as Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, near the ruins of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip August 26, 2024
Palestinian woman Warda Mattar feeds her newborn dates, instead of milk, amidst food scarcity and lack of milk, at a school where they shelter in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip February 25, 2024
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups issued a joint letter blaming Israel for the deteriorating situation
There was no immediate comment from Israel's military.
Earlier this week, 111 aid agencies, including including Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Oxfam signed an open letter warning of 'mass starvation' spreading in Gaza, as the population was 'wasting away'.
'With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.
'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death', it read.
The UN as well as experts have said Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine as children with no preexisting conditions have begun to starve to death.
'We only want enough food to end our hunger,' said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City as he tried to feed his family of six.
The Israeli military says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the trucks entering.
But the UN claims it has been hindered by military restrictions on movements as well as criminal looting.
The UN as well as experts have said Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine as children with no preexisting conditions have begun to starve to death. Pictured: Palestinians queue to get hot meals from aid organisations in Gaza City, Gaza, on July 26, 2025
'We only want enough food to end our hunger,' said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City as he tried to feed his family of six. Pictured: Internally displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive limited rations amid food shortages in Nuseirat Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on July 26, 2025
The Gaza police force had previously provided security for aid delivery but it has been unable to operate after months of being Israeli airstrikes.
Israel on Saturday said more than 250 trucks carrying aid from the UN and other organisations entered Gaza this week, with around 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire that Israel, which ended in March.
'Stand for Gaza, for silence is a crime, and indifference is a betrayal of humanity,' said Father Issa Thaljieh, a Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, as religious figures and the mayor called for prayers to end the war.
More than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children.
The ministry operates under the Hamas government but the UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
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