Israel Has Intercepted Most Of The Global Sumud Flotilla Boats And Abducted The Activists On Board
Only four vessels are still sailing to Gaza, while Israel said the rest of the Flotilla had been "safely stopped."
Israeli naval forces have intercepted in international waters nearly all of the boats on the Global Sumud Flotilla that set sail for Gaza with humanitarian aid.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest civilian fleet of mostly small boats, had left from Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 31, carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, to break Israel’s siege on Gaza.
Israeli forces intercepted at least 39 boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla between Wednesday, Oct. 1, and Thursday, Oct. 2, with the live tracker showing 13 boats “intercepted” and the rest of the boats “assumed intercepted” as the tracker stopped.
Israeli soldiers have kidnapped and detained dozens of activists, with 223 activists confirmed detained, including Thunberg, and live-streams and communications from the flotilla were cut during the operation.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said several vessels that form part of the Global Sumud Flotilla had been "safely stopped".
Only four vessels are still sailing to Gaza, the Marinette, the Mikeno, the only vessel that reached Palestinian waters and the legal support teams Summertime-Jong and Shireen.
However, Israel’s military has denied that any boat had entered Gaza’s waters.
Before nearing Gaza, multiple boats have been attacked in international waters with targeted explosions and unidentified objects being dropped on or near the boats.
Italy and Spain had sent naval ships to protect the Flotilla but they abandoned the fleet as they got closer to Gaza.
Earlier in September, two boats, including the flotilla’s main Family boat, were also bombed in Tunisian waters by drones.
Israel has repeatedly called the flotilla a “provocation” and the “Hamas-Sumud Flotilla” insisting that aid must be routed through land crossings under its control.
Solidarity protests broke out as news of the interceptions spread in several cities across the world, including in Athens, Istanbul, Berlin, Paris and London, demanding the immediate release of activists.
More On Israel's Genocide In Gaza
Kassy Cho
Flavie Chen
Kassy Cho
