Israel on Wednesday intercepted a boat carrying women activists seeking to break the country's decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it was boarded without incident and being taken ashore. The navy said it had redirected the sailboat in order to prevent a "breach of the lawful maritime blockade" of the Palestinian enclave "in accordance with government directives and after exhausting all diplomatic channels".

The Zaytouna-Oliva set sail from Barcelona in September with 13 women of various nationalities aboard, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland. Dubbed "Women's Boat to Gaza", it is part of the wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition that consists of pro-Palestinian boats that regularly seek to go to Gaza to try to break the blockade.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2016