AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

Human rights groups around the world are condemning Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla ship called the Madleen. They’re saying it’s a war crime. The ship was sailing to Gaza with vital humanitarian aid for Palestinians, who are being starved by Israel’s strict blockade since early March, with 11 activists and one journalist on board. Israeli soldiers in the early hours of Monday — they have not, the activists, been heard of or located since. Those detained include the renowned Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Thiago Ávila, who we just heard, from Brazil; Yasemin Acar from Germany — she was scheduled to join us on today’s broadcast, before she and the rest of the group were forcibly taken by the Israeli Navy. Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla on international waters at approximately 3:00 this morning, some 110 nautical miles from Gaza.

This is Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila describing the moments before Israeli forces boarded the ship.

THIAGO ÁVILA: Everyone, we are under attack. Please sound the alarm. They are throwing a lot of substances and objects on us. Quadcopters, the most dangerous ones. … Right now they are jamming our comms. They are saying random stuff just to jam our communication. They are doing this so that we cannot get help.

AMY GOODMAN: And this is an Israeli soldier ordering the ship to stop sailing toward Gaza.

ISRAELI SOLDIER: The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade. If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you are able to do so through the Port of Ashdod via the established channels and distribution centers.

AMY GOODMAN: Israeli quadcopters intercepted and attacked the group of activists, spraying a white chemical-like substance on the ship, the activists said, which hurt their eyes. Signals were jammed. Disturbing audio was broadcast to interfere with communication over the radio system. Israeli soldiers on speed boats then boarded the Madleen. Israeli soldiers are also heard on video footage demanding the crew throw their mobile phones into the sea. The unarmed activists were then detained by Israeli forces, the Madleen, the ship, seized. The ship’s humanitarian aid, including baby formula, food, medical supplies, have been confiscated. The group of activists, who had been at sea for over a week since departing from Sicily on June 1st, shared these prerecorded messages after Israel’s attack.

BAPTISTE ANDRÉ: My name is Baptiste André from France. If you are seeing this video, we have been visited at sea, and I have been kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces, of forces of a country complicit in the Israel genocide of Palestinians. I appeal to my own comrades, friends, family to put pressure on the French government to demand my release as soon as possible.

GRETA THUNBERG: My name is Greta Thunberg, and I am from Sweden. If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel. I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.

MARCO VAN RENNES: [translated] My name is Mark Van Rennes, and I come from the Netherlands. If you see this video, we have been abducted in international waters by the Israeli occupation army, or by an army helping Israel commit genocide against the Palestinian people. I call on the Dutch government to push for my release and that of all other peaceful activists.

PASCAL RAYMOND MAURIERAS: [translated] Hello. My name is Pascal Raymond Maurieras. I’m French. If you are seeing this video, it means we have been intercepted by the Israeli army or one of their complicit allies of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I’m requesting my comrades, family and friends ensure that the French government intervenes with the Israeli authorities, demanding my release from prison as soon as possible.

REVA SEIFERT VIARD: So, my name is Reva Seifert Viard. I’m from France. If you see this video, it means that we got intercepted by the Israeli forces or complicits, and we may be in a very bad situation now. So, I do ask our comrades, to our family, friends to please share this video and put pressure on the French government so that we could be, with my friends, released, and also, of course, that this genocide ends.

RIMA HASSAN: [translated] Hi, everyone. My name is Rima Hassan. I’m French Palestinian, aboard the humanitarian vessel going to Gaza. If you’re seeing this video now, it’s because we’ve been stopped by the Israeli army or their complicit allies. We count on your mobilization to put pressure on the French government to demand our release.

SERGIO TORIBIO: OK, my name is Sergio Toribio from Spain. If you are seeing this video, we have been intercepted at sea, and I have been kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces or a force of a country complicit in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. I appeal to all my comrades, friends, family to put pressure on the Spain government to demand my release as soon as possible.

HÜSEYIN ŞUAYB ORDU: My name is Hüseyin Şuayb Ordu from Turkey. If you are seeing this video, it means that we have been intercepted at sea, and I have been kidnapped by IOF. I appeal to all my comrades, friends, family to put pressure on the Turkish government, government to demand my release as soon as possible.

THIAGO ÁVILA: Hi, everyone. I’m Thiago Avila. I’m a Brazilian citizen, member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. And if you’re watching this video, it means that I’ve been detained or kidnapped by Israel or another complicit force around the Mediterranean on our way to Gaza to break the siege. And in this case, I urge you to pressure my government and my comrades’ governments for us to be released out of prison and for to break relations with Israel, to end the genocide and then the siege that Israel putting the Palestinian people on. We count on you right now.

YASEMIN ACAR: My name is Yasemin Acar, and I am from Germany. If you’re seeing this video, we have been intercepted at sea and kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces or by one of its allies complicit and actively participating in the genocide of Palestinians. I appeal to my comrades, friends and family to put pressure on the German government and to ask for my release as soon as possible.

YANIS MHAMDI: [translated] Hello. My name is Yanis Mhamdi, a journalist from Blast Media. And if you’re seeing this video, I’ve been detained by the Israeli forces while performing my role as a journalist. I therefore ask my colleagues and the French government to expedite my release and to return my camera equipment.

AMY GOODMAN: The journalists and activists are being transported to Israel’s port city of Ashdod, where it’s believed they’ll be taken to an Israeli prison. Al Jazeera is reporting, “Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed prison authorities to prepare separate cells for the activists from the Madleen ship at Givon Prison in Ramla, where they will be held before being deported,” unquote.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had initially planned to sail from Malta last month, but the group’s ship was damaged in a drone strike that left four volunteers injured.

For more, we go to Ann Wright for an update, senior member of the Gaza flotilla steering committee, in close contact with the Madleen. She herself was part of four Gaza Freedom Flotillas, twice imprisoned by the Israeli military. She’s a 29-year U.S. Army, Army Reserves veteran who retired as a colonel, is a former U.S. diplomat who resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the War in Iraq.

Ann, thanks so much for being with us. We only have two minutes. Can you give us the latest update? We watched those videos. They said, “If you’re seeing this video, we have been taken.”

ANN WRIGHT: Well, thank you so much, and for playing all of those videos of the brave, courageous 12 that were on that ship.

They were taken from the Madleen, put on a Navy ship within 30 minutes after the Israeli Navy stopping them. They’re still on that ship, as far as we know. They should be arriving, probably within the hour, into the Port of Ashdod. And we’re getting information from the immigration authority there that they may be deported immediately rather than going into the prison. That’s something our lawyers, Adalah, who are Palestinian lawyers that are in Palestine '48, that are confirming with us. So, it may be that some of them don't go to Givon Prison.

We thank everyone for their support. There are other things that are happening in the region — the global march to Cairo, the Tunis Soumoud march. There are so many things people can do to keep Gaza and the West Bank in their mind. You can have your own Gaza Freedom Flotilla in any water that’s close to your house and put a little Palestinian flag on a boat in a mud puddle even. It’s solidarity that we need right now for the people of Gaza. And we will be sending more boats in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and very, very soon. So, thank you all for the support, and let’s make sure this genocide and ethnic cleaning that the Israelis are doing in Gaza and the West Bank ends now. Pressure on our governments, whether they be the U.S., French, German, Sweden, Brazil, Turkey, Spain, the Netherlands, that were on that boat, and we will have a U.S. citizen on this next boat.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Ann, we just have a few seconds, but the Turkish government, immediately the Foreign Ministry declared Israel a terrorist state and demanded the freedom of its two nationals that were on this boat. What about other governments?

ANN WRIGHT: Well, the other governments have been silent so far, but that’s where citizen pressure comes in. So, call the foreign ministries of all of those countries and put press pressure on, and put — don’t forget the old United States of America, the most complicit country in the genocide of Gaza. So, it’s up to us as citizens to keep the pressure on. We’ve got citizens that are out in front of the United Nations every day on the hunger strike, and they’re going to be going to the national missions of each of those countries that have citizens on the Madleen.

AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you, Colonel Ann Wright. She is a senior member of the Gaza flotilla steering committee, in close contact with the Madleen volunteers. That does it for our show. She’s wearing a T-shirt that says “break the siege.” I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.