Israeli military intercepts another flotilla heading to Gaza

The nine-boat flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea was trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Picture: Freedom Flotilla Coalition via AP

The Israeli military has intercepted a nine-boat flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and detained scores of activists on board, the flotilla organisers and the Israeli foreign ministry said.

The ministry said the 145 activists, who were in good health, were being brought to shore in Israel for processing and were expected to be deported soon.

The interception came after nearly 450 activists, including European politicians and climate activist Greta Thunberg, were intercepted last week on more than 40 boats trying to reach Gaza with a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid.

This interception, of the Global Sumud Flotilla, drew widespread condemnation and sparked large protests in several major cities and a one-day strike across Italy.

The organisers of this latest, nine-vessel group — made up of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza — decried Wednesday’s detentions as “arbitrary and unlawful”.

Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing

The activists on board included doctors and politicians. The flotilla was carrying some food and medical aid destined for Gaza hospitals.

“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the foreign ministry wrote on X.

Organisers said the boats were intercepted around 120 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza early on Wednesday.

In footage of the interceptions released by the organisers, the flotilla boats were approached by fast-moving ships and then boarded by Israeli troops. No injuries were reported.

Some of the deported activists from last week’s flotilla had described mistreatment at the hands of Israeli guards, claims that Israel denies.

The flotillas to Gaza came amid surging criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where its offensive in the war against Hamas has laid waste to wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people.

Israel and Hamas are in the third day of indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm Al-Sheikh, along with high-level leaders from international delegations, including the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

An Israeli soldier tries to reach a camera onboard the Gaza Sunbird 1 vessel in the Mediterranean Sea (Freedom Flotilla Coalition via AP)

The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023. The militants killed some 1,200 people that day, while 251 others were abducted. Forty-eight hostages are still held in Gaza — around 20 believed to be alive.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and whose figures are viewed by experts as the most reliable estimate, has said women and children make up around half the dead.

Israel has maintained varying degrees of blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power in the coastal territory in 2007, saying it is necessary to contain the militant group. Critics deride the policy as collective punishment.

After the war started, Israel tightened the blockade but eased up later under US pressure.

In March, it sealed the territory off from all food, medicine and other goods for two-and-a-half months, contributing to Gaza’s slide into famine.

The flotillas say they want to break Israel’s blockade and establish a humanitarian corridor by sea, given the little aid that reaches Gaza by land.