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Israeli forces have taken command of a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12 including activist Greta Thunberg is now heading to a port in Israel, officials said on Sunday.

The British-flagged yacht Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.

However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control, saying the activists are expected to return to their home countries. 

The FFC says that quadcopters have surrounded the Madleen and sprayed the flotilla with a white paint-like substance before it was seized.

Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.

"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli military in international waters around 2 am," Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza:

• The organisers of a Gaza-bound aid boat had tried to break a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip said Israeli forces intercepted the vessel carrying Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists on Monday. Israeli officials said that the ship was heading to a port in Israel.

• Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that tensions have emerged between the Israeli army and senior government officials regarding the Madleen aid boat.

• Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said detained Madleen ship activists to be forced to watch a video documenting the 7 October attack. 

• At least 28 people were injured after Israeli drones targeted civilians near the aid distribution point near the Netzarim checkpoint in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian Information Centre reported, citing Al-Awda Hospital officials.

• The Israeli assault on Jenin Camp in the occupied West Bank resulted in the complete demolition of 600 homes, while damaging the rest, rendering them uninhabitable, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, citing Jenin Camp Media Committee.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• The total death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has climbed to 54,880 since 7 October 2023, with 126,227 wounded.

• The ministry said the tally includes 4,603 dead and 14,186 wounded since Israel resumed the war on March 18, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire.

• The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Monday that the bodies of 108 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

• Israeli air raids across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 44 Palestinians on Sunday, medical sources say, as the bombardment continues to devastate the besieged territory.

• Medical teams at Rafah's Red Cross Field Hospital are reaching breaking point after two weeks of relentless casualties from Israel's military offensive. Staff have declared 12 mass casualty emergencies as 933 wounded Palestinians flooded the facility - 41 arriving already dead from their injuries.

• Palestinian resistance groups have accused the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation of complicity in what they called “death ambushes”, saying massacres are taking place daily at aid distribution points disguised as relief efforts.

• Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, criticised the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid delivery system, calling the use of “aid distribution” a form of “humanitarian camouflage”.

• The Israeli military has accused Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD), of being an "active terrorist" affiliated with Hamas - a claim Bassal strongly denies.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says crew members aboard the Madleen, a ship heading towards Gaza, have sounded the alarm and donned life jackets in anticipation of an imminent interception.

The coalition reported on Monday that preparations were under way as the vessel approached waters where Israeli forces are expected to act.

Israeli air raids across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 44 Palestinians today, medical sources say, as the bombardment continues to devastate the besieged territory.

The updated death toll was reported by doctors working in the few hospitals still functioning amid Israel’s ongoing assault.

Many medical centres remain overwhelmed or out of service due to fuel shortages and repeated strikes.

Israeli shelling struck the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday evening, killing three Palestinians and wounding several others, according to medical sources.

A doctor at Al-Awda Hospital confirmed that the casualties were civilians, targeted while gathered in the densely populated camp, Wafa news agency reported.

Activists have hit out at a number of University of Cambridge colleges after they obtained court injunctions "criminalising" pro-Palestine encampments on campus.

Interim injunctions were obtained by Trinity College and St John's College earlier this week after campaigners re-established encampments in protest at what they said was a failure by the university to divest from Israeli companies.

A lawyer for the colleges has asked for the injunctions to be made final and to last 12 months, arguing that the protests have been disruptive to students taking exams and that the colleges are "concerned about the environment of fear and intimidation created by masked protesters". 

Cambridge for Palestine (C4P) said the move amounts to "criminalising" protests on campus. The group posted footage on their Instagram page appearing to show police earlier this week threatening protesters with imprisonment.

Read more: Cambridge students hit out at injunctions 'criminalising' Palestine encampment

Palestinian resistance groups have accused the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation of complicity in what they called “death ambushes”, saying massacres are taking place daily at aid distribution points disguised as relief efforts.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the factions claimed the foundation’s real purpose is to undermine Unrwa—the UN agency for Palestinian refugees—in order to facilitate forced displacement in a continuing attempt at ethnic cleansing.

They urged Palestinians not to fall for “false promises” made by Israel and its allies, warning that anyone collaborating with the foundation would be considered a traitor and treated as a legitimate target.

The statement also called on international legal institutions and human rights groups to launch an investigation into what they described as the “suspicious intelligence role” played by the US-backed initiative. They linked the foundation’s operations to the deaths of at least 126 Palestinians at aid collection points.

Israel’s navy is reportedly getting ready to intercept the Madleen flotilla as it heads towards Gaza on Sunday night, with military sources suggesting efforts are being made to avoid drawing widespread media attention.

The Israeli military says it has rehearsed multiple scenarios ahead of the planned operation to stop the vessel, the Israaeli daily Haaretz reported.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz earlier issued a warning to those on board, stating that he had ordered the army to use “any means necessary” to stop the flotilla from breaching the naval blockade.

“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to violate the naval blockade on Gaza, which aims to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” Katz said. He added, “Greta and her friends better turn back – because they will not reach Gaza.”

The flotilla’s organisers say their mission is humanitarian, aimed at challenging Israel’s ongoing siege of the coastal enclave.

The Israeli army says it has recovered the body of Mohammed Sinwar, months after claiming to have killed the senior Hamas figure during a military operation in May.

Military officials allege that Sinwar’s body was discovered in an “underground passageway beneath the European Hospital” in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza. They say his identity was confirmed after the recovery.

Mohammed Sinwar is widely believed to have stepped into a leadership role following the reported killing of his brother, Yahya Sinwar, a top Hamas commander, in an Israeli strike last October.

Gaza’s Government Media Office has previously dismissed Israeli allegations of tunnels running beneath hospitals, describing them as “fabricated, flawed and full of loopholes”.

Israeli forces have killed at least 41 Palestinians in fresh attacks across Gaza today, according to medical sources at the enclave's remaining functional hospitals.

The mounting casualties arrive as Gaza's crippled healthcare system buckles under Israel's sustained bombardment, with medical staff reporting impossible working conditions and critical supply shortages.

Medical teams at Rafah's Red Cross Field Hospital are reaching breaking point after two weeks of relentless casualties from Israel's military offensive.

Staff have declared 12 mass casualty emergencies as 933 wounded Palestinians flooded the facility - 41 arriving already dead from their injuries.

"An overwhelming majority of patients said they had been trying to reach assistance distribution sites," revealed the humanitarian organisation, highlighting how Israel's siege conditions are compounding the health crisis.

The hospital warned its "unprecedented" caseload of gunshot and shrapnel wounds "has strained and exhausted staff", threatening its ability to function.

With medical workers overwhelmed and supplies dwindling, the Red Cross cautioned the facility's "very capacity to operate" now hangs in the balance - a direct consequence of Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza's civilian population.

Gaza's healthcare system stands on the brink of collapse as Israel's fuel blockade threatens to shut down critical hospitals within hours.

The Health Ministry warned Sunday that generators powering life-saving medical equipment will soon stop, putting hundreds of patients at immediate risk.

"Shutting down the generators will directly endanger the lives of hundreds of wounded and sick patients," the ministry stated, accusing Israel of ignoring repeated requests to allow fuel deliveries.

Gaza City's Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals may cease operations within 24 hours, while southern Gaza's Nasser Medical Center has just two days of fuel remaining.

The ministry appealed for international intervention, demanding "immediate pressure on Israel" to permit emergency fuel shipments.

Medical staff describe increasingly desperate conditions as power supplies dwindle in neonatal, intensive care and surgical units across the besieged territory.

Israeli forces killed four Palestinian civilians in drone strikes east of Khan Younis Sunday evening, Wafa news agency reported.

The attack targeted civilians in the Ma'an area, leaving several others wounded.

Simultaneously, Israeli artillery pounded Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighbourhood while deploying smoke bombs across the area - tactics that have drawn condemnation from human rights groups for endangering civilian populations.

Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib announced on state television Sunday that Tehran possesses a cache of sensitive Israeli documents, calling them a "treasure trove" that will enhance Iran's military capabilities.

State media reported the documents contain information about Israel's nuclear facilities, defence systems, and foreign relations with the US and European nations.

While the origin of the breach remains unclear, it may connect to last year's alleged hack of an Israeli nuclear research centre.

Khatib stated the documents' transfer required extensive security measures, adding: "Talking of thousands of documents would be an understatement."

The minister confirmed the materials would be made public soon, though the methods of acquisition would remain secret.