{"id":96710,"date":"2025-10-02T11:18:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96710"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:18:53","slug":"israeli-naval-ships-intercept-gaza-bound-flotilla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96710","title":{"rendered":"Israeli naval ships intercept Gaza-bound flotilla"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Israeli navy has intercepted boats carrying aid to Gaza and detained the activists aboard, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry said several vessels that form part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) had been \u201csafely stopped\u201d and that those aboard were being transferred to an Israeli port.<\/p>\n

It added the navy had told the vessels to change course as they were \u201capproaching an active combat zone\u201d.<\/p>\n

The GSF has said boats are still being intercepted on Thursday morning. Earlier, it said 30 boats were still \u201csailing strong to Gaza\u201d and were 46 nautical miles from their intended destination.<\/p>\n

They described the interception as \u201cillegal\u201d and \u201cnot an act of defence\u201d but \u201ca brazen act of desperation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The group has alleged that one vessel within the flotilla was \u201cdeliberately rammed at sea\u201d and said additional boats were hit by water cannons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt clearly reveals the extreme lengths to which the occupier will go to ensure Gaza remains starved and isolated,\u201d GSF wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will attack a peaceful civilian mission because the success of humanitarian aid means the failure of their siege.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the flotilla had been informed it was \u201cviolating a lawful naval blockade\u201d that covers the waters next to Gaza \u2013 though it is unclear if the boats had entered the blockade zone.<\/p>\n

It posted footage from the interception showing Thunberg sitting on the deck of a boat, being handed water and a jacket by a member of the Israeli military.<\/p>\n

Later on Thursday, the foreign ministry said detained activists were being taken to Israel before procedures begin to deport them to Europe.<\/p>\n

Livestreams from the boats suggest not all of the 44 vessels have been boarded and evacuated.<\/p>\n

The Israeli government, which has branded the GSF\u2019s attempt to transport humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza as \u201cprovocation\u201d, said: \u201cGreta and her friends are safe and healthy.<\/p>\n

The GSF said multiple ships including the Alma, one of the main vessels, as well as the Surius and the Adara, had been intercepted and boarded.<\/p>\n

Prior to that, it accused the Israeli military of \u201cintentionally damaging ship communications, in an attempt to block distress signals and stop the livestream of their illegal boat boarding\u201d.<\/p>\n

It said the flotilla had been 70 nautical miles from Gaza\u2019s shoreline when the intervention had occurred. The group had hoped its vessels would arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

People have gathered in Greece, Italy, Germany, Tunisia and Turkey to protest against Israel\u2019s interception of the flotilla.<\/p>\n

In a statement the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, called for Israel to \u201curgently lift the blockade on Gaza and allow the entry of life-saving material through all means possible\u201d, adding it must agree to facilitate impartial humanitarian relief schemes \u201cwithout hindrance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Italian unions have also called a general strike on Friday in \u201cdefense of the flotilla, constitutional values, and for Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s foreign ministry condemned the interception as an \u201cact of terrorism\u201d, and called for the \u201cperpetrators of this attack\u201d to be held accountable.<\/p>\n

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has expelled all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country in response, and denounced the interception as an \u201cinternational crime by Netanyahu\u201d.<\/p>\n

Petro also terminated Colombia\u2019s free trade agreement with Israel, which has been in place since 2020, and called for the release of two Colombians who were aboard the flotilla.<\/p>\n

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris called the reports \u201cconcerning\u201d and said he expects Israel to uphold international law,\u00a0with at least seven Irish citizens among the detained, including Sinn F\u00e9in senator Chris Andrews.<\/p>\n

Israel has already blocked two attempts by activists to deliver aid by ship to Gaza, in June and July.<\/p>\n

While the Israeli government has characterised the flotilla as a \u201cselfie yacht\u201d, Thunberg has pushed back against that criticism, telling the BBC on Sunday: \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone would risk their life for a publicity stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

International aid agencies have been attempting to get food and medicine into the Palestinian territory but note Israel is restricting the flow of supplies.<\/p>\n

Israel claims it is attempting to stop those supplies falling into the hands of Hamas. It and the US have backed an alternative food distribution system, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which the UN refuses to co-operate with, describing its set-up as unethical.<\/p>\n

A UN-backed group confirmed last month that there was famine in Gaza and the UN\u2019s humanitarian chief said it was the direct result of Israel\u2019s \u201csystematic obstruction\u201d of aid entering the territory.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called this an \u201coutright lie\u201d.<\/p>\n

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a statement that France had ensured \u201cthat any possible boarding operation would take place under the best possible security conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s foreign minister said he had been reassured by Israel that its armed forces would not use violence against the 500 people aboard, including French and Italian politicians.<\/p>\n

Antonio Tajani said: \u201cThe boarding was planned, we are talking about it\u2026 with [Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon] Saar so that there would be no violent actions on the part of the Tel Aviv armed forces, and this has been assured to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon Harris, Ireland\u2019s t\u00e1naiste (deputy prime minister), said his country \u201cexpects international law to be upheld and all those on board the flotilla to be treated in strict accordance with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Gaza,\u00a0Israel is stepping up its assault on Gaza City\u00a0as Hamas weighs its response to a new US plan to end the war. Arab and Turkish mediators are understood to be pressing Hamas for a positive response, but a senior Hamas figure has said the armed group is likely to reject it.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a final warning to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the city to evacuate southwards, saying those who remained during the offensive against Hamas would be \u201cterrorists and supporters of terror\u201d.<\/p>\n

The International Committee of the Red Cross stated that \u201cunder international humanitarian law, civilians must be protected whether they stay or leave Gaza City\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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