The true nature of a supposed humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza was thrown into question this weekend when a 70-year-old passenger was caught with a stash of hashish in her undergarments. 

The discovery was made when the boat’s passengers were brought to Israel for processing after their Gaza-bound cargo ship, called the Handala, was seized by Israel’s navy on Saturday night. 

During the intake process, Israel officials were surprised to discover that an elderly Norwegian woman was hiding 21 units of concentrated cannabis both in her mouth and in “private areas,” Israel’s Mako News reported. While Israel has decriminalized personal use of cannabis, activities like selling or trafficking remain illegal. 

Israeli authorities emphasized that the search was carried out according to protocol and that all passengers were unharmed. The illicit substances were handed over to Israeli police, who have since launched an investigation, according to Mako News. 

The Handala left for Gaza from Gallipoli, Italy, on July 20 with the purported goal of breaking Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza. The 21 passengers aboard the boat include a former United Nations development officer, Chloe Ludden, a European Union parliamentarian, Emma Fourreau, and two Al Jazeera journalists, among other activists. 

The crew said that the boat was carrying humanitarian aid, including baby formula, diapers, and food, that they intended to distribute to Palestinians in the Strip. Before departure, the 21-person crew pledged to “join the global hunger strike” for Gaza should they fail to make it to Gaza. 

Israeli officials confirmed on Saturday night that the vessel was blocked from “illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza” and was headed to Israel’s shore, where arrangements would be made for the passengers to be returned home. The foreign ministry added, “Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.” 

The voyage was organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a group that has been protesting the blockades that Israel implemented in the region following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack. 

Most recently, the coalition helped a climate advocate turned anti-Israel campaigner, Greta Thunberg, a “Game of Thrones” actor, Liam Cunningham, and a handful of other high-profile activists set sail on a similarly doomed expedition last month. 

Ms. Thunberg and her fellow Maldeen passengers documented nearly every step of their journey online — posting reality-TV-like content to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s page on X — and were dubbed the “celebrities” of the “selfie yacht” by Israel’s foreign ministry. 

“While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid — more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza,” Israel’s foreign ministry shared last month. The office added that the “tiny amount of aid” aboard the boat would be transferred to Gaza “through real humanitarian channels.” 

Israeli officials later released images of the Maldeen’s passengers receiving food and water, including a now-viral image of Ms. Thunberg grinning while being handed a turkey sandwich by an Israeli officer. 

The Handala marks the eighth boat to be sent by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition since 2008. Reports emerged last month tying one of the coalition’s founding members, Zaher Birawi, to Hamas. Mr. Birawi in 2013 was named by Israel as a Hamas operative in Europe and serves as head of an Israeli-designated terrorist organization, the Europal Forum. A 2012 photograph captures Mr. Birawi alongside a former Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated last year.