The Madleen set off for Gaza from Catania, Sicily on 1 June with 12 crew members and one tonne of aid and was intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the early hours of this morning.

Tánaiste Simon Harris had earlier said that “any use of force against [the Madleen] would constitute a breach of international law”, echoing experts cited by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz ordered the interception after branding the Madleen as a “hate flotilla” crewed by “the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople”.

After the operation, he said he had “instructed the IDF to show the flotilla passengers the video of the horrors of the October 7 massacre when they arrive at the port of Ashdod”.

Amnesty International, which counts Greta Thunberg among its “ambassadors of conscience”, condemned the Israeli intervention.

“By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen which was carrying humanitarian aid and a crew of solidarity activists, Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice,” secretary general Agnès Callamard said.

“The operation carried out in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk.

“The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission, they must be released immediately and unconditionally. They must also be protected from torture and other ill-treatment pending their release.”

She continued: “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.

“Its military attacks have also damaged or destroyed vital infrastructure, including sources of food production like agricultural lands, compounding the impact of its starvation policy.”

The Madleeen’s voyage had emerged as a “powerful symbol of solidarity with besieged, starved and suffering Palestinians amid persistent international inaction”, Ms Callamard added.

She said the interception of the vessel “despite global calls for it to be granted safe passage underscores the longstanding impunity Israel enjoys which has emboldened it to continue to commit genocide in Gaza and to maintain a suffocating, illegal blockade on Gaza for 18 years”.