The Israeli Navy completely encircled the Global Sumud Flotilla 250 nautical miles from the Gaza coast…
Speedboats and boarding teams executed a daylight raid, seizing control of 38 vessels within the fleet…
Military personnel detained 319 activists from dozens of nations, including doctors, filmmakers, and academics…
The Israeli Foreign Ministry alleges a sweep of the ships revealed a “provocation flotilla” with zero actual aid onboard…
Organizers fiercely dispute the claim, demanding immediate consular access for the captive crew members…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces on Tuesday intercepted six remaining vessels from a much larger activist flotilla attempting to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Two other boats are still on their way to the Palestinian territory, according to the activist group’s livestream.
A live feed on the Global Sumud Flotilla website showed armed Israeli soldiers on Zodiac boats boarding the Andros, Zefiro, Don Juan, Alcyone and Elengi vessels as activists donning life vests held their arms up. Israeli soldiers then destroyed cameras mounted on the activists’ boats.
This is the group’s latest effort to underscore the grim living conditions of nearly 2 million Palestinians in the coastal territory, suffering from severe shortages of housing, food, and medicine.
The flotilla boats were stopped around 90-100 miles (145-160 kilometers) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website tracker.
The vessels departed last week from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, in what flotilla organizers described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza’s shores.