The anti-Israel activists claiming to be “kidnapped” by Israeli officials who shut down their high-profile sea voyage to Gaza will soon see videos of Hamas’s real kidnappings of Israeli citizens. 

A Swedish climate advocate, Greta Thunberg, a “Game of Thrones” actor, Liam Cunningham, and a handful of other anti-Israel activists aboard the Gaza-bound Maldeen will be shown footage of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre before they are dispersed to their respective home countries, Israel’s defense minister announced on Monday. 

During Hamas’s October 7 invasion, terrorists slaughtered an estimated 1,200 individuals in southern Israel — most of whom were civilians — and kidnapped 251 men, women, and children. Video clips of the massacre, most of which were taken by the terrorists themselves, have been strung together by Israeli officials in a harrowing 43-minute video titled “Bearing Witness.” Israel has shown the uncensored video in limited screenings to journalists and politicians to raise awareness of Hamas’s brutality.  

“It’s appropriate that Greta the antisemite and her Hamas-supporting friends should see exactly who is the terror group Hamas that they support and act on behalf of, what atrocious acts they carried out on women, the elderly and kids, and who Israel is fighting for its defense against,” the defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday. 

The boat was intercepted by the Israeli navy on Monday morning without incident and was rerouted to an Israeli port in Ashdod, where it docked in the afternoon. Israeli officials took control of the boat after its passengers had defied numerous warnings from Israeli officials that they would not be allowed to pass through blockaded waters. 

The foreign ministry maintains that Hamas has “exploited sea routes for terrorist attacks” and that “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 attempted to send boats to Gaza in protest of Israel’s wartime blockade of the Gaza Strip. The ship departed for Gaza from a port in Sicily last Sunday and was reportedly equipped with baby formula, food, and medicine that those aboard planned to distribute in Gaza. 

The anti-Israel voyagers documented nearly every step of their journey online, posting reality-TV-like content to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s page on X. One video shows activist Thiago Ávila bobbing as the boat’s bow hits the bright blue water of the Mediterranean while strumming the guitar and singing a tune called “Break the Siege.” Another clip showcases a keffiyeh-clad passenger deck gazing at a picturesque sunset from the Maldeen’s deck.

Shortly after Israeli officials apprehended the boat, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition shared on X a series of videos with pre-recorded messages from the passengers. “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupation forces,” Ms. Thunberg, wrapped in a keffiyeh, is seen saying to the camera in one clip. “SOS! the volunteers on ‘Madleen’ have been kidnapped by Israeli forces,” the coalition captioned the video. 

By that time, however, Israel’s foreign ministry had already confirmed that the passengers of the Maldeen — who they dubbed the “celebrities” of the “selfie yacht” — were unharmed and headed to the shores of Israel, where arrangements would be made for them to be returned home. 

“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. 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 Maldeen is just the seventh boat sent by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition since 2008. Reports emerged on Monday 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. 

While the Maldeen’s voyage has been foiled, another group of anti-Israel activists is already en route to protest the war in Gaza. On Monday, Tunisian activists claimed to send “thousands” of volunteers on their way to the Rafah crossing by land convoy. The convoy, which was organized by the Joint Action for Palestine Coordination in Tunisia, plans to travel through Egypt to the crossing, where its participants will “deliver messages of solidarity and aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.”