Gaza-Bound Boat: The Four French Nationals Still Detained in Israel to Be Deported Thursday and Friday

The four French nationals still detained in Israel after the interception of the humanitarian sailboat Madleen will be deported to France on Thursday, June 12, and Friday, June 13, announced France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday.

“Thanks to our agents for their admirable commitment, which led to a swift resolution despite the harassment and defamation they have faced,” the minister posted on social media platform X.

Gradual Deportation Process

Of the twelve passengers aboard the Madleen, intercepted Monday by the Israeli Navy about 185 kilometers off the Gaza coast, six were French citizens. Two of them — Al Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad and physician Baptiste André — agreed to be deported on Tuesday. The remaining four, including far-left MEP Rima Hassan, initially refused deportation pending a court decision.

According to the organization Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Rima Hassan was placed in solitary confinement before being removed from her cell on Wednesday afternoon.

The passengers of the vessel aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and symbolically “break the Israeli blockade.” The action comes in the context of a severe humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, devastated by over 20 months of war triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Activists and Journalists On Board

Alongside Rima Hassan, other French passengers included Blast journalist Yanis Mhamdi, engineer Pascal Maurieras, and climate activist Reva Seifert-Viard.

After the vessel was intercepted, the passengers were taken to the port of Ashdod in southern Israel and then transferred to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for deportation.