Gaza Freedom Flotilla update: Israel says Greta Thunberg and Madleen ship activists are heading home soon. Here’s what to know

The Israeli foreign ministry has announced that the activists on board the Madleen, a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, will soon be on their way home. The ship was intercepted by Israel and was carrying high-profile passengers, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and France's representative to the European Parliament, Rima Hassan. The vessel was launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and was headed for the Gaza Strip when it was intercepted. Israel's Foreign Ministry stated that the ship would be taken to an Israeli port, where arrangements would be made for the return of the passengers to their respective home countries. The passengers and crew were detained and taken to Israel, with any aid on the ship to be sent to Gaza, but not through the naval blockade. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition claimed that the Israeli military had unlawfully boarded and attacked the ship, surrounding it with quadcopters and jamming communications. Greta Thunberg released a video on social media, stating that they had been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli forces, and urging her friends and family to put pressure on the Swedish government to release her and the others. The attempt to deliver aid to Gaza comes after over 600 days of war and an 11-week blockade of all aid, which has led to a hunger crisis affecting around 2.1 million people. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has called for the urgent opening of all crossings and allowing unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations to deliver aid. The Israeli government plans to bring the detained activists to the Port of Ashdod and then deport them via Ben-Gurion Airport through a quick deportation process.