The Global Sumud Flotilla is aiming to reach Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. Photo / Getty Images
Israeli naval forces on Wednesday intercepted a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, ending its latest bid to break an Israeli blockade of the war-battered Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military operation was announced by both the flotilla itself and the Israeli foreign ministry.
The Global Sumud Flotilla - around 45 vessels carrying activists and politicians including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg - left Spain last month aiming to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says famine has set in.
“Around 8.30pm Gaza time [8.30am NZT], several vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including the Alma, Sirius and Adara, were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli occupation forces in international waters,” the flotilla said.
“Beyond the confirmed interceptions, live streams and communications with several other vessels have been lost.”
French politician Marie Mesmeur and Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan also reported that their boats were being intercepted.
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X that Israeli authorities were “currently boarding” the flotilla.
The Israeli foreign ministry posted on X that “several vessels of the... flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port”.
“Greta and her friends are safe and healthy,” it said, alongside a video of Thunberg retrieving her belongings.
Earlier, the Israeli navy warned the flotilla against entering waters under its blockade.
Spain and Italy, which sent naval escorts, had urged the ships to halt before entering Israel’s declared exclusion zone off Gaza.
After a 10-day stop in Tunisia, where organisers reported two drone attacks, the flotilla resumed its journey on September 15.
One of its main ships, the Alma, was “aggressively circled by an Israeli warship”, the group said, before another vessel, the Sirius, was subjected to “similar harassing manoeuvres”.
The flotilla had earlier vowed to press on with its bid to deliver aid to the devastated coastal territory despite what it called “intimidation” tactics by the Israeli military.
It said on X it remained “vigilant as we enter the area where the previous flotillas were intercepted and/or attacked”.
Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday’s interception was “an act of terrorism that constitutes the most serious violation of international law and endangers the lives of innocent civilians”.
Israel blocked similar attempts in June and July.
“We sail on undeterred by Israeli threats and tactics of intimidation,” said the flotilla, which is also carrying Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela.
Spain’s Digital Transformation Minister, Oscar Lopez, had urged the flotilla not to cross into Israel’s declared exclusion zone, extending 150 nautical miles off Gaza.
“Our message to the flotilla has been clear: do not enter that zone,” he told Spanish public television, adding that Spain’s naval escort would not cross into the exclusion area.
Italy, too, urged the activists to “stop now” after its frigate also halted at the 150-nautical-mile limit, broadcasting radio messages to the activists’ vessels asking them to abandon their mission.
The activists said Spain and Italy’s decision was an attempt to “sabotage” their endeavours.
South Africa called for “utmost restraint and caution against any unilateral actions that could escalate the situation or endanger human life”.
It said the “safety, security, and physical integrity of all unarmed participants aboard the flotilla, including South African citizens, are of paramount importance”.
Italy and Greece appealed to Israeli authorities to “guarantee the safety and integrity of the flotilla’s participants”.
Rome and Athens also urged the flotilla to “refrain from any initiative that could be exploited by those who still reject peace”.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the activists “do not represent a danger or a threat to Israel” and hoped that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s Government will not represent a threat to this flotilla either”.
Speaking ahead of a European Council meeting, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on the activists to halt their voyage, saying it could jeopardise US President Donald Trump’s latest proposed Gaza peace plan, currently still under negotiation.
“In the face of a historic opportunity, I cannot understand the insistence on an initiative that carries elements of danger and irresponsibility,” she said.
Hamas has slammed Israel’s interception of the flotilla as a “crime of piracy and terrorism”.
-Agence France-Presse