Israel Stops 14 Gaza Aid Boats, Organisers Say, Drawing International Criticism

A video from the Israeli foreign ministry verified by Reuters showed the most prominent of the flotilla’s passengers, Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.

“Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the Israeli foreign ministry said on X. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.” 

The Global Sumud Flotilla is transporting medicine and food to Gaza and consists of more than 40 civilian boats with about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists.

It has posted several videos on Telegram with messages from individuals aboard the boats, some holding their passports and claiming they had been abducted and taken to Israel against their will, while reiterating that their mission was a non-violent humanitarian cause.

The flotilla is the highest-profile symbol of opposition to Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

ISRAEL FACES INTERNATIONAL BACKLASH

Its progress across the Mediterranean Sea garnered international attention as nations including Turkey, Spain and Italy sent boats or drones in case their nationals required assistance, even as it triggered repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.

Turkey’s foreign ministry called Israel’s “attack” on the flotilla “an act of terror” that endangered the lives of innocent civilians.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said it had launched an investigation into the detention of 24 Turkish citizens on board vessels in the flotilla on charges including deprivation of liberty, seizure of transport vehicles and damage to property, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the expulsion of Israel’s entire diplomatic delegation on Wednesday following the detention of two Colombians in the flotilla. Israel has not had an ambassador in Colombia since last year.

Petro called the detentions a potential “new international crime” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the release of the Colombians. He also terminated Colombia’s free trade agreement with Israel.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday condemned Israel’s interception of the flotilla, adding Israeli forces had detained eight Malaysians.

“By blocking a humanitarian mission, Israel has shown utter contempt not only for the rights of the Palestinian people but also for the conscience of the world,” Anwar, whose country is predominantly Muslim, said in a statement.

Israel’s interception of the flotilla sparked protests in Italy and Colombia. Italian unions called a general strike for Friday in solidarity with the international aid flotilla.

Israel’s navy had previously warned the flotilla it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked organisers to change course. It had offered to transfer any aid peacefully through safe channels to Gaza.

23 BOATS SAILING TOWARDS GAZA

The flotilla is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war.

The flotilla’s organisers denounced Israel’s action as a “war crime.” They said the military used aggressive tactics, including the use of water cannon, but that no one was harmed.

“Multiple vessels … were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters,” the organisers said in a statement.

The boats were about 70 nautical miles off the war-ravaged enclave when they were intercepted, inside a zone that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching. The organisers said their communications, including the use of a live camera feed from some of the boats, had been scrambled.

“These are repeated acts of piracy in violation of international law and the law of the sea,” March to Gaza Greece, a member of the flotilla, said on Thursday.

“The Greek government has a responsibility to guarantee the safety of the crews and to take all necessary action to protect the Greek men and women on board.”

According to the flotilla’s ship tracking data, 23 boats were still sailing towards Gaza.

The flotilla had hoped to arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning if it was not intercepted.

Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt.

“This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative,” Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on X.

Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver aid by sea.

In 2010, nine activists were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by 700 pro-Palestinian activists from 50 countries.

In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Thunberg and 11 crew members from a small ship organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza.

Israel began its Gaza offensive after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive has killed over 65,000 people in Gaza, Gaza health authorities say.