A Twickenham man was on a yacht intercepted by armed Israeli authorities this week.

Vish Vishvanath, 36, was one of nine people travelling on the British-flagged catamaran Irene when it was intercepted yesterday.

The boat full of Jewish activists set off from northern Cyprus on Sunday carrying supplies including medical equipment, textbooks, nets and children's toys with the aim of breaching Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Mr Vishvanath said the vessel had been "hijacked" in international waters and surrounded by about eight boats whose crew trained machine guns on them when he arrived back at Luton Airport this morning.

He said he had been "almost strip-searched" and that the Israeli authorities had confiscated all his camera gear and his phone and took down the boat's British flag.

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