ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Israeli military began intercepting boats on Monday morning that are part of the latest wave of flotilla activists attempting to break the blockade of Gaza.
More than 50 vessels departed from the port in Marmaris, Turkey, last week in what the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza’s shores.
The organization’s livestream on Monday showed activists aboard several vessels
putting on life jackets and raising their hands before a boat carrying troops approached. Israeli troops wearing tactical gear boarded the ship, and the livestream abruptly ended. Many of the ships are currently off the coast of Cyprus.
Other footage showed Israeli troops on speedboats approaching and instructing the activists to move to the front of the boat.
An hour prior to the interception, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on activists to “change course and turn back immediately.”
“Once again, a provocation for the sake of provocation: another so-called “humanitarian aid flotilla” with no humanitarian aid,” the Foreign Ministry posted on X. The Israeli military declined to comment on the ongoing operation.
Organizers said the boats were intercepted 250 nautical miles from the shores of Gaza. Unlike previous interceptions, which took place under the cover of night, the Israeli military boarded the boats in broad daylight.
The blockade has been in effect for 18 years, long predating the recent war in Gaza.
Israel and Egypt, which borders Gaza to the south, imposed the blockade after the 2007 Hamas takeover of the territory, seeking to prevent the group from smuggling in weapons. Since then, Israel has controlled Gaza’s airspace and coastline, and restricted the flow of goods and people in and out of the territory.
Some critics consider it collective punishment.
On April 30, Israeli forces intercepted more than 20 boats from a flotilla near the southern Greek island of Crete, initially holding about 175 activists. Israeli officials said they had to act early because of the high number of boats involved.
Israel took two of the activists — a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, Saif Abukeshek, and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila — back to Israel, where they were interrogated and detained for several days. The activists accused Israel of torture, which Israel denied. Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for “kidnapping” their citizens. The two were deported from Israel after about a week in detention.
Organizers say the latest efforts involved a regrouped fleet joined by additional boats. Nearly 500 activists from 45 countries were taking part.
The activists’ attempt comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group to reach Gaza. That attempt involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.
Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.
The Israeli action raised questions about what any nation can legally do to enforce a blockade in international waters. Several world leaders and human rights groups have condemned Israel, saying it violated international law.
Previous efforts to breach the blockade have also failed. In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Turkish boat Mavi Marmara, which had been participating in an aid flotilla attempting to reach Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American on board were killed. The last time an activist boat succeeded in reaching Gaza was in 2008.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, and the top diplomat overseeing it says it has stalled because of the deadlock over disarming Hamas. Both sides have traded accusations of violations. Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire went into effect in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. The ministry says Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the war have devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 72,700 people.
The flotillas have been criticized for bringing minute amounts of aid on tiny ships. The Israeli defense body overseeing humanitarian aid to Gaza claims that sufficient aid is entering Gaza, with around 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entering Gaza daily, similar to prewar levels.
Nonetheless, around 2 million Gaza residents are still living with severe shortages of housing, food and medicine.
Flotilla organizers have said they hope their latest attempt to reach Gaza will help highlight the living conditions endured by Palestinians in the territory, particularly as global attention has shifted its focus to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.
