GAZA: Israeli naval forces attacked and intercepted an international aid flotilla sailing towards the Gaza Strip, detaining dozens of activists and seizing several vessels. Organizers said the convoy — the largest attempt in years to break Israel’s blockade — was carrying humanitarian supplies, medical aid, and international campaigners from more than 45 countries.
The Global Sumud Flotilla reported that Israeli boats surrounded at least six ships, including the Alma, Sirius, Adara, and Deir Yassin. Activists said communication systems were jammed, livestreams cut, and vessels boarded by armed personnel. “We are being attacked right now by the Zionist army,” the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) declared in a statement on X.
Israeli authorities confirmed that activists were being moved to the southern port of Ashdod, where the aid would be “inspected” before delivery — a process long criticized by human rights groups as a mechanism of control and collective punishment.
YOU CAN VIEW THE FLOTILLA TRACKER HERE: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/
Violence on the High Seas
Flotilla organizers accused Israeli forces of using violence during the assault, including ramming one vessel, deploying water cannons, and “brutally mistreating peaceful detainees from 50 countries around the world.” Around 70 activists were confirmed detained overnight, with reports that the operation would continue through Thursday.
Livestream footage from the convoy showed activists putting on life vests as more than 20 Israeli naval boats closed in. Witnesses described scenes of panic as soldiers boarded ships and ordered them to change course. Despite the raid, flotilla organizers insisted early Thursday that 30 boats remained at sea, just 46 nautical miles from Gaza.
“This mission is not over,” spokesperson Saif Abukeshek said. “They are determined, and they are motivated. They will do everything within their hands to break the siege.”
Gaza Under Siege and in Ruins
The raid comes as Gaza endures one of the most devastating wars in recent history. Nearly two years into Israel’s ground and air offensive, more than 66,100 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 — the vast majority women and children. Tens of thousands more have been injured, overwhelming Gaza’s shattered health system.
Hospitals, already targeted and destroyed in Israeli strikes, are overflowing with wounded. Doctors describe performing surgeries without anesthesia, while famine spreads due to Israel’s near-total closure of food and medical supplies. The UN has repeatedly warned that Gaza is on the brink of becoming “uninhabitable.”
Beyond the death toll, mass displacement continues. Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, forcing over two million people into a desperate exodus within the enclave, many sheltering in makeshift tents or ruins of bombed-out buildings.
An Escalating Humanitarian Catastrophe
Israel’s naval interception was denounced by organizers as part of a broader policy of collective punishment. The flotilla was carrying supplies urgently needed in a territory where starvation has become systemic, diseases are spreading, and children are among the most vulnerable victims.
International organizations, including Amnesty International and the UN, had warned Israel against attacking the convoy. But Israel has a long history of intercepting Gaza-bound aid, seizing cargo, and deporting international activists — most infamously in 2010 when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, killing 10 people.
Rights groups argue that such actions underline Israel’s determination to enforce a blockade that has strangled Gaza for nearly 18 years, violating international law and deepening the humanitarian crisis.
International Outcry Expected
The flotilla had passed points where two previous Gaza-bound ships, the Madleen and Handala, were intercepted earlier this year. Wednesday night’s raid will likely intensify global outrage at Israel’s actions, particularly as the enclave sinks deeper into famine and ruin.
“Attacking a humanitarian convoy is a crime against international law and a crime against humanity,” one activist posted before being cut off. “The world must not stay silent.”
With Gaza’s death toll surpassing 66,000 and survivors facing starvation, disease, and displacement, the interception underscores how Israel’s siege has become not just a military strategy but a system of domination over an entire population. For many activists aboard the flotilla, the mission was not only about aid but about defying a regime of suffocation that has rendered Gaza one of the most devastated places on earth.
