How Israel manipulated media coverage of Madleen flotilla seizure

Israel has deployed a coordinated media strategy to divert attention from the seizure of the Madleen aid flotilla en route to Gaza, manipulating public perception and concealing the aggressive nature of the operation, according to multiple reports.

The Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that the Israeli foreign ministry controlled the media portrayal of the flotilla interception, with Western media largely echoing the ministry's narrative—an approach aimed at avoiding the public relations failures that followed the 2010 Mavi Marmara attack."

"Israel appeared prepared. The army carried out a meticulous control operation, and a prior decision was made that the foreign ministry would be responsible for media statements, not the Israeli army," the report from Ynet said.

Part of Israel's media approach, according to Maariv daily, involved forcing activists on board to watch footage of the Hamas-led 7 October attack, in a move widely seen as performative and disconnected from the mission's humanitarian intent.

Activists aboard the Madleen, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested after the vessel was intercepted by Israeli forces.

Ynet described the operation as "smooth and swift" and "without injuries", in contrast to the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla fifteen years ago.

Thunberg was filmed smiling in front of Israeli military cameras. Israeli media highlighted that detainees were given bottled water and sandwiches, though reports noted Thunberg, a strict vegetarian, was handed a pastrami sandwich.

'Whitewashing seizure of flotilla'

The capture of the flotilla and detention of those aboard it have been denounced by many as an attempt to whitewash Israeli crimes and prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza to deliver aid to the starving Palestinian population.

Lamis Adoni, a Palestinian journalist and academic who led the launch of The New Arab, said that Israel had manipulated media coverage of the flotilla to better its image on an international stage.

"Showing activists scenes from 7 October, as if they were ignorant, was absurd. Everyone on that boat understands the context and the history. One of them is a European parliamentarian," Andoni said.

"The offer of food and water was cynical. Israel is starving Palestinians and then handing sandwiches to Western activists for the cameras. Who buys this? It's so obviously propaganda," she added.

She added that had the passengers been Arab or less prominent, Israel's treatment of them would likely have been harsher.

"Israel is losing the image war. That’s why they're overcompensating with these stunts," she noted.

Andoni also referenced the 1987 Ship of Return, organised by the PLO and attacked by Israel before passengers had even boarded.

"It was peaceful, symbolic. Media were invited to show there were no weapons, but the ship was bombed ten hours before departure," she said.

While Israel detained the Madleen passengers, it continued deadly operations in Gaza, where at least 60 civilians were killed the same day, Andoni said.

Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s interception of the flotilla as a violation of international law.

"By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen, which was carrying humanitarian aid and solidarity activists, Israel has again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in Gaza," said Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.

"This act, despite international calls for safe passage, reflects the impunity Israel has enjoyed for decades. It reinforces the illegal blockade of Gaza and the broader context of what many now recognise as acts of genocide."