Activists aboard dozens of vessels attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip say Israeli forces intercepted their convoy overnight Wednesday into Thursday and detained crew members as the flotilla sailed near the southern Greek island of Crete.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which left Barcelona earlier this month, organizers say included more than 70 boats and roughly 1,000 people from around the world, with additional vessels joining as the convoy moved east across the Mediterranean. The effort follows a similar attempt that was stopped by Israeli authorities less than a year ago.
The organizing group described the operation as a dangerous and unprecedented escalation, calling the detentions an abduction of civilians hundreds of miles from Gaza. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that it was taking about 175 activists from more than 20 boats to Israel.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel and Egypt have enforced varying levels of blockade. Israel says the restrictions are meant to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas; critics argue the blockade amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population.
Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the seizure as an act of piracy and accused Israel of violating humanitarian principles and international law. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the raid by phone with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno.
In Athens, activists planned a protest outside the Greek foreign ministry, saying the interception took place within the maritime zone where Greece is responsible for search and rescue and criticizing the Greek coast guard for not intervening.
A fragile six-month ceasefire has reduced the most intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, but Israeli strikes have continued, killing more than 790 people during the truce, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry reports about 72,300 Palestinians killed since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
About 2 million Gaza residents remain in devastated conditions with shortages of food and medicine and only limited aid entering through a single Israeli-controlled border crossing. Flotilla organizers say their voyage is intended to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly as international focus shifts to the wider U.S.-Israel tensions with Iran.
Last year’s flotilla attempt involved dozens of boats near Gaza; one vessel crossed the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit but all were intercepted, seized or turned away. Participants at that time, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, said they were abused while detained; Israeli authorities denied those allegations.