Sofia Ferreira Santos and Ben Hatton
BBC News

Image source, ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Madleen has been taken to the Port of Ashdod in Israel after being intercepted in the early hours of the morning.

The Israeli foreign ministry shared a picture of activist Greta Thunberg, who was aboard the vessel, in front of an Israeli flag. It also said she and the 11 other passengers were undergoing medical examinations.

We first heard the boat had been intercepted near the Egyptian coast just after 05:30 local time (03:30 BST).

The activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the journey, said it was seeking to defy the Israeli blockade and deliver aid to Gaza - and that the crew had been "kidnapped by Israeli forces".

You can see video footage showing the moment the boat was intercepted here.

Image source, Reuters

Israel called it a "media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity" and said the crew were being taken "safely" to Israel where they would be deported.

The BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen writes that it was clear the boat was never going to reach Gaza and that its mission was designed to produce controversy and debate.

We're bringing this live page to a close now, but you can read more in our news story here.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition - which organised the boat's journey towards Gaza - says it's not been allowed contact with any of the 12 passengers since the vessel was intercepted by Israel.

In a post on X, the group says it has not heard from them for 19 hours.

It adds that while Israel says the volunteers have not been harmed, they will be experiencing "the psychological impact of being forcibly abducted". The Israeli foreign minister said earlier that passengers were "undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health".

The coalition also thanks those "fighting for our team" and calls on supporters to "keep the pressure up on states" to stop Israel’s "siege of Gaza".

Image source, Israel Foreign Ministry

We've now had confirmation through from the Israeli foreign ministry, which says the Madleen has docked and the people who were aboard are undergoing medical examinations.

It has also released images of two people, including the above picture of activist Greta Thunberg.

In a post on social media, the ministry says: "The 'Selfie Yacht' docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health."

We're now seeing images of the Madleen at the Port of Ashdod in Israel.

The photos are quite dark and grainy (it's just gone 22:00 in Israel), but they seem to show the boat docked.

Its arrival in Israel comes hours after the vessel was intercepted by Israeli forces.

Image source, ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

We're yet to receive official confirmation that the Madleen has reached the Port of Ashdod.

Though the AFP news agency - citing one of its photographers - is reporting that the ship has docked.

Recent images, like the one below and that we shared a little earlier, appear to show the boat approaching the Israeli port.

We'll let you know when we hear anything further.

Image source, Reuters

As we wait for the Madleen to dock in Ashdod, we can bring you video now showing the moment the yacht was intercepted.

It was taken by an onboard security camera and was provided by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which is the activist group which organised the boat's journey.

Our world news correspondent Joe Inwood analysed footage from this camera earlier today - you can see his description of what it shows here.

A warning: This video contains flashing images.

We've just received the below image from Reuters news agency, which says it shows the Madleen approaching the Port of Ashdod in Israel.

Image source, Reuters

Sweden's foreign ministry has confirmed it is in contact with Israeli authorities in a statement to the Reuters news agency

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is one of the activists on the Madleen.

“Should the need for consular support arise," the statement says, the Israeli embassy and the ministry "will assess how we can best help the Swedish citizen/Greta Thunberg resolve her situation".

We still do not know the location of the Madleen or the boat's crew after it was intercepted by Israel.

We first heard the vessel had been blocked just after 05:30 local time (03:30 BST). It was understood to be sailing near the Egyptian coast at the time - this is what we know about the moment it was intercepted.

The latest

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is "urgently" working to locate the crew.

The Israel's foreign ministry said at about 15:00 BST that the yacht was "continuing its journey toward an Israeli port".

The background

The boat was carrying a small amount of aid and bound for Gaza, with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg among 12 on board. Its journey was organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaign group, which says it was "a peaceful act of civil resistance" against Israel's blockade of Gaza.

The Israeli foreign ministry says the boat is "safely" making its way to Israel and that the crew will be deported. "There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies," it said. Just after 06:00 BST, the defence minister said the boat would be taken to the port city of Ashdod.

Hamas called the interception a "flagrant violation of international law".

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says aid is desperately needed and accuses Israel of genocide - a claim Israel has frequently denied.

We've got a brief explainer on the aid situation in Gaza here.

Image source, Reuters

A convoy of around 1,000 people is on its way to Gaza from Tunisia to "break the siege" on the Palestinian territory, according to activists.

Organised by Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the nine-bus convoy is hoping to carry out a "symbolic act" by breaking through Israel's blockade on Gaza.

The Soumond convoy, which means "steadfastness" in Arabic, is aiming to get to Rafah in southern Gaza by the end of the week.

The group will travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, but Cairo has not yet provided the necessary permits for travelling through Egypt.

Co-ordinator Jawaher Channa says they will have to see what happens when they get to Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza.

She adds they are not expecting to have any issues crossing Libya, as its "people have historically supported the Palestinian cause".

Adelah, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, says it has sent an urgent letter to the country's authorities "demanding information on the whereabouts of the 12 activists forcibly detained after Israeli naval forces unlawfully seized the Madleen".

It says that it will pursue legal action to secure the activists' safety and release.

The group adds that the yacht never entered Israeli territorial waters and that it never intended to. Adaleh says Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority to seize the ship in international waters and the Madleen "was headed toward the territorial waters of the State of Palestine".

"Adalah demands the immediate disclosure of the activists’ location and legal status, and their access to legal counsel to enable legal representation before Israeli authorities and tribunals," the statement concludes.

Image source, Reuters

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is "urgently" working to locate the crew of the Madleen.

A press officer for the campaign group, Hay Sha Wiya, says: "According to the Israeli Immigration Authority, they are not in its custody."

Wiya says repeated attempts have also been made to contact Israeli military officials since the early hours of the this morning.

The BBC has not been able to verify whether the immigration authority has denied that the crew are in its custody - we have contacted the Israeli government for comment.

Israel's foreign ministry says the boat is "continuing its journey toward an Israeli port" - see our last post for details.

Israel's foreign ministry says the Madleen - which it refers to as a "selfie yacht" - "carrying Greta Thunberg and the other so-called 'celebrities' is continuing its journey toward an Israeli port".

In a post on X, it adds: "Upon arrival, arrangements will be made for their return to their respective home countries."

Amnesty International has issued a statement describing the flotilla's mission as "indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade".

The human rights organisation goes on to say that Israel has an "international obligation to ensure safe access to food and essential supplies for Gaza's civilians", and that its actions show "chilling contempt" for international law.

"Activists would not have had to risk their lives if Israel’s allies had turned their words into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza", the group's leader Agnes Callamard says.

Sophie Williams
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer has given a press conference where he referred to the flotilla.

He says the Israeli forces towing the yacht have given the 12 activists on board plenty to eat and drink - and adds that the group will be returned home in a short time.

"On the subject of aid, the yacht had a meagre cargo but of course it will be sent into Gaza," he says.

"To poor Greta, we say, who is really feeding Gaza and who is feeding their own ego.

"When it comes to this flotilla, it wasn’t a flotilla, it was a selfie yacht. It was Instagram activism."

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is working "to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza" and that the Madleen was carrying a symbolic amount of aid, including rice and baby formula.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent

The 12 pro-Palestinians activists detained after the Madleen was intercepted by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza will be deported to their home countries, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

Among those on board is the Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, six French nationals including a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament and citizens from Brazil, Spain and Turkey.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron requested that the French nationals aboard the boat "be allowed to return to France as soon as possible", a presidential official said.

Turkey, meanwhile, condemned the interception as a "heinous attack" in international waters.

Israel had dismissed the mission of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as a provocation, calling it a “selfie yacht”.

The group had planned to deliver a symbolic amount of supplies to Gaza, to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis there because of Israel’s restrictions on aid.

There was no surprise the boat was intercepted, as Israel had blocked similar efforts in the past.

Image source, Reuters

The Madleen appears to be registered to the UK, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic, which lists it under its formal name, the Barcarole.

Being UK-flagged means the boat is subject to British laws and regulations, and falls under the protection of the UK.

Earlier the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, urged the UK government to "urgently seek full clarification" and "secure the immediate release of the vessel and its crew".

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Pictures are coming through of a small demonstration forming in Ashdod in Israel, ahead of the expected arrival of the Madleen.

The activists, who can be seen carrying signs and waving Palestinian flags, are demanding the halting of Israeli attacks and the blockade on Gaza.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Downing Street says it wants to see Israel resolve the situation around the detention of the Madleen yacht "safely with restraint, in line with international humanitarian law".

The Prime Minister's official spokesperson tells reporters at a Downing Street briefing that "we have made clear our position in relation to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The PM has called it appalling and intolerable."

"We have made it very clear we must get more aid into Gaza", they say, adding that " the unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza is critical".

Image source, Getty Images

Israel has recently begun to allow limited aid into Gaza after a three-month blockade.

It is prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US but widely condemned by humanitarian groups.

The UN's human rights chief Volker Türk said last week that Palestinians were being presented with the "grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available".

As the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen writes, the GHF system means that the people must travel through a war zone in the ruins of southern Gaza to collect a box of rations. Distribution seems to be chaotic, and so far has repeatedly broken down into a free for all.

The GHF has more than once paused its operations to deal with overcrowding and safety concerns.

And there have been a number of deadly incidents near aid points set up by the new organisation. At the weekend, at least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire as they were heading to get food.

Last week, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross told the BBC that Gaza had become worse than "hell on earth".