2 activists detained on Gaza aid boat released, leave Israel

Two activists detained by Israel on board a Gaza-bound boat earlier this week were both released and left Israel on Thursday, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Turkish citizen Suayb Ordu and German citizen Yasemin Acar were aboard the vessel Madleen when it was intercepted by Israeli forces.

The British-flagged vessel Madleen set sail on June 6 from Sicily, Italy for Gaza in an attempt to break an Israeli naval blockade on the enclave, where over 55,000 people have been killed in a deadly onslaught since October 2023.

Israeli forces seized the Madleen in international waters early Monday and detained its 12-strong crew.

In addition to Ordu and Acar, activists aboard the Madleen included prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Sergio Toribio from Spain, Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.