Gaza: Israeli forces on Wednesday intercepted a flotilla of boats carrying foreign activists and aid bound for Gaza, detaining Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg along with others on board and escorting them to an Israeli port.

A video released by the Israeli foreign ministry and verified by Reuters showed Thunberg sitting on the deck of one of the boats surrounded by soldiers.

“Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the ministry said in a post on X. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla, composed of nearly 50 boats and 500 activists, is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Sirius, Alma and Adara boats were intercepted some 70 nautical miles (80 miles) from the coast of Gaza, according to organisers who shared live positions of the flotilla.

The group, which includes Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and several European lawmakers, said it remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade and bring aid to Palestinians.

Greg Stoker, an American veteran aboard the Ohwayla, one of the boats in the flotilla, said that around a dozen naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it. “They are currently hailing our vessels, telling us to turn off our engines and await further instructions, or our boats will be seized and we will face the consequences," he said in a shaky video posted on Instagram. Israeli authorities used water cannons against some of the boats, Stoker and other activists reported on social media.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s interception of the boats, denouncing it as an “act of terrorism” and a severe breach of international law. In a statement, the ministry said it was taking initiatives to ensure the immediate release of Turkish citizens and other passengers detained by the Israeli forces.

The vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt and had entered what activists and others called a “danger zone." While still in international waters, it is an area where the Israeli navy has stopped other boats attempting to break its blockade in the past and which the flotilla has been warned not to cross.