When they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching,” said Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg lost control of her self-documented voyage to the Gaza Strip when the Israeli government intercepted her ship and detained those aboard.

Shortly after their arrests, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the nonprofit that has staged dozens of efforts to reach Gaza to protest Israel, posted prerecorded videos on X showing the crew members saying that they had been “kidnapped.” They called on their home governments to put pressure on Israel to release them.