Female Israeli Navy troops take over Dutch ship headed to Gaza

Female Israeli Navy troops on Wednesday afternoon took over the Zaytouna-Oliva, a Dutch-flagged ship that sailed from Barcelona with a goal of reaching the Gazan coast to protest the Israeli blockade. Thirteen women including parliamentarians from New Zealand, Sweden and Algeria, a doctor from Malaysia and a former officer in the US military are aboard the vessel. Earlier in the day, radio contact with the ship was lost as it sailed about 100 kilometers from the Israeli coast, apparently indicating the blocking of radio and satellite communication systems ahead of the takeover on the open sea. The ship will be towed to the port of Ashdod and its passengers will be deported from Israel when the operation is over.