Israeli forces on Wednesday intercepted several boats carrying foreign activists and humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, detaining hundreds of passengers in a raid that has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Video released by Israel’s foreign ministry and verified by Reuters showed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg sitting on the deck of a seized boat, 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 ministry said on X. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian mission of more than 40 boats carrying medicine, food, parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, had set out to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Organisers said in a statement that the flotilla’s mission was “a non-violent humanitarian cause” and accused Israel of committing a “war crime” by forcibly boarding boats in international waters.
“Multiple vessels … were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters,” they said, claiming Israeli forces had used water cannon and attempted to sink one of the boats, the Maria Cristina.
The flotilla’s progress across the Mediterranean had attracted global attention, with Turkey, Spain and Italy monitoring the boats in case their nationals needed assistance. Turkey’s foreign ministry denounced the raid as “an act of terror” that endangered civilians, while protests broke out across Italy.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Harris described the reports as “very concerning,” saying: “This is a peaceful mission to shine a light on a horrific humanitarian catastrophe.”
As of early Thursday, organisers said 13 boats had been intercepted or stopped, while 30 others continued toward Gaza, about 46 nautical miles from their destination. Despite Israeli warnings, they vowed the flotilla “will continue undeterred.”
Israel has long argued that its naval blockade is a lawful measure against Hamas, which controls Gaza. Officials dismissed the flotilla as a provocation. “This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative,” said Jonathan Peled, Israel’s ambassador to Italy.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on Palestinian rights, said the interception “would be a violation of international law,” since Israel has no legal jurisdiction in international waters off Gaza.
The flotilla raid recalls past confrontations. In 2010, nine activists were killed when Israeli forces boarded a similar aid convoy. More recently, in June, Thunberg herself was detained by Israeli naval forces while attempting to reach Gaza on a smaller boat.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took control of the enclave. Its ongoing war, launched after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has devastated Gaza, where health officials say more than 65,000 people have been killed.
