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Israeli forces have attacked a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza as the vessel approached the coastal waters of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen ship, said in a social media post on Monday morning that they were surrounded by Israeli army ships.

He added that the regime’s forces have attacked Madleen, a humanitarian aid vessel that was attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

"Connection has been lost on the 'Madleen'. The Israeli army has boarded the vessel," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted on Telegram, adding that Israeli forces kidnapped the passengers.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 international campaigners aboard the Madleen. “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent, are also onboard the vessel.

Rima Hassan broadcast images of the sirens sounding on the ship.

Mahmud Abu-Odeh, a Germany-based press officer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, told AFP that "the activists seemed to be arrested."

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, five Israeli speedboats have reached the Madleen ship.

Francesca Albanese said the Madeleine crew has informed Israeli forces that they are carrying humanitarian aid and that they will leave safely.

“I heard the soldiers speaking while the captain was on the phone with me,” Albanese said.

“I lost connection with the captain as he was telling me that ‘another boat is approaching’.”

The new development came after Hamas warned the Israeli regime against taking any measure to stop the Madleen ship, holding the regime fully responsible for the lives of activists aboard it.

Earlier, the Israeli minister of military affairs, Israel Katz, threatened to block the aid ship from reaching Gaza, accusing Thunberg and fellow activists of being “Hamas propagandists.”

He had instructed the regime’s forces to take action "by land, sea, and air" to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.

 Blatant act of piracy

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned Israel's seizure of the Freedom Flotilla ship and its crew.

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen’s as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

“This is a blatant act of international piracy and state terrorism,” he said.

“The Israeli occupation has no legal right to blockade the Gaza coast, much less to drop chemical weapons on humanitarian aid boats and abduct their passengers in international waters,” Awad added.

Awad called on the Israeli regime to immediately release the ship’s crew.

“We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza,” he said.

The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail from Sicily last week carrying urgent humanitarian supplies for Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, desalination kits, medical aid, and children’s prosthetics.

Israeli drones hit a vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Conscience, in international waters off the coast of Malta on May 2.

The group condemned the attack at the time, calling it a clear “violation of international law.”

UN agencies and major aid groups have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. They say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Mangaluru, June 10: Eighteen crew members rescued from the blaze-hit Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 were safely brought ashore at the Indian Coast Guard berth of the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) late Monday night. 

However, four of the crew members continue to remain missing. The rescue, carried out by Indian Naval Ship INS Surat, came in the wake of a massive fire triggered by a container explosion onboard the ship while it was navigating the Arabian Sea, approximately 78 nautical miles off the Beypore coast in Kerala.

Key developments:

•    The MV Wan Hai 503, a 270-metre-long container vessel, departed Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai when the incident occurred. An explosion in one of the containers reportedly caused a fire, resulting in 20 containers falling into the sea. 

•    Some of these containers are believed to be carrying dangerous cargo, including flammable and toxic materials, raising environmental and safety concerns.

•    The fire-struck vessel is currently being monitored closely amid efforts to control the blaze and prevent further environmental damage. Authorities confirmed that specialised response teams are en route to manage the hazardous materials on board.

•    Of the 18 rescued, two crew members are reported to be in critical condition, four suffered minor injuries, and a dozen others are being treated for psychological trauma. The injured were taken to AJ Hospital in Kuntikana, Mangaluru. 

•    The missing crew members include nationals from Taiwan, Indonesia, and Myanmar. There were no Indian nationals among the crew. 

•    The search and rescue operations are ongoing, involving Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships, as well as aircraft from Kochi and Mangaluru.

•    According to officials, the critically wounded were stabilized onboard the naval vessel before being transferred under close medical supervision upon arrival. “The critically injured were stabilised onboard INS Surat, and shifted on arrival under close medical supervision. Immediate evacuation was our priority,” a Coast Guard official told reporters, as per a report on PTI.

Port workers at Panambur described the emotional scenes as injured sailors—many visibly shaken—disembarked, some whispering prayers and others frantically asking for news about missing shipmates.

Mangaluru, June 15: Incessant rains continued to batter Dakshina Kannada on Sunday, triggering multiple landslides and causing widespread disruption to traffic and daily life across the district.

A significant landslide occurred adjacent to National Highway 169 at Kethikal in Thiruvail village near Vamanjoor, depositing a large volume of soil on the right side of the highway. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) promptly deployed teams to the site. Cleanup operations are currently underway, and precautionary traffic diversions have been put in place to maintain vehicular movement. Fortunately, no major damage or injuries were reported.

The Kethikal area has previously been identified as vulnerable, with similar incidents reported during last year’s monsoon. In response, the authorities had initiated soil-nailing measures and planned the construction of a gabion wall to stabilize the slope and prevent future landslides. Despite these efforts, the recurrence has raised fresh concerns about long-term solutions.

Meanwhile, another landslide affected the Jokatte–Padil section of the railway line, leading to slower train movement in the region as a precautionary measure.

In Kankanady's Naguri area, a minor landslide impacted residential zones, threatening at least 12 houses. Authorities evacuated the affected families to safer locations. Dramatic CCTV footage capturing the collapse of a massive compound wall at Suvarna Lane in Kankanady quickly went viral on social media, amplifying public concern.

Flash flooding was also reported in Pandeshwara’s Shivanagara 4th Cross, where residents struggled through knee-deep water, adding to the growing list of monsoon-related woes.

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) recorded alarming rainfall figures over a 24-hour period ending at 8:30 AM on Sunday:

Pudu Gram Panchayat (Mangaluru taluk): 189.5 mm

Neerumarga: 180.5 mm

Meramajalu: 174 mm

Bala Gram Panchayat: 165.5 mm

Patrame: 162.5 mm

Amtadi: 159.5 mm

Badagabelluru: 150 mm

Officials are closely monitoring vulnerable areas, and emergency teams remain on alert as forecasts predict continued rainfall in the coming days.