Gaza aid boat to press on 'until last minute': Activists

A humanitarian boat bound for Gaza, with 12 activists on board - including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg - will continue its journey "until the last minute", campaigners said on Sunday after Israel ordered its military to block the vessel.

"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, named Madleen.

The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies to "break Israel's blockade on Gaza", where the Israeli war has entered its 21st month.

"There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid," said Hassan.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to block the boat from reaching Gaza.

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. 

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

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was founded in 2010 to oppose this blockade and deliver humanitarian aid.

Reporting by AFP