Jerusalem — Israeli navy forces boarded most of the vessels and detained dozens of activists and a number of European lawmakers aboard a flotilla attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza on Thursday, drawing condemnation from around the world. The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said one boat had managed to sail on but stopped near Gaza’s coast on Thursday morning before contact with the vessel was lost.
The flotilla organizers said 39 of their boats were intercepted — or assumed intercepted as communication with the activists was lost — in an Israeli operation that began the night before. Israel’s foreign ministry said the activists from the boats, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were safe and being transferred to Israel.
In a social media post, the foreign ministry said the activists and their boats were “making their way safely and peacefully to Israel, where their deportation procedures to Europe will begin. The passengers are safe and in good health.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla, composed of nearly 50 boats and 500 activists, was trying to carry a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The group, which includes Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and several European lawmakers, said earlier that it remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and bring aid to Palestinians.
ISRAEL FOREIGN MINISTRY/Handout via Reuters 
Greg Stoker, an American military veteran aboard the Ohwayla, one of the boats in the flotilla, said that around a dozen Israeli naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it early Thursday.
“They are currently hailing our vessels, telling us to turn off our engines and await further instructions or our boats will be seized and we will face the consequences,” he said in a shaky video posted on Instagram. Israeli authorities used water cannons against some of the boats, Stoker and other activists reported on social media.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing Thunberg sitting on a ship’s deck being handed a water bottle and raincoat.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian TV network RAI that the boats would be towed to Israel’s port of Ashdod and the activists would be deported in the coming days. He also said Israeli forces have been told “not to use violence.”
Some of the flotilla’s vessels came under attack by drones while docked off Tunisia, and then later while sailing near Greece. The drone strikes sparked fires on two of the boats in Tunisian waters, according to the flotilla organizers, and Tunisian authorities confirmed they were investigating at least one attack as a “deliberate act.”
Global Sumud Flotilla 
Neither Tunisia nor Greece has accused anyone of being responsible for the drone attacks.
The Israeli military never responded to CBS News requests for comment on the incidents.
Israel draws condemnation for intercepting Gaza flotilla
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s interception of the boats denouncing it as an “act of terrorism” and severe breach of international law. In a statement, the ministry said it was taking initiatives to ensure the immediate release of Turkish citizens and other passengers detained by the Israeli forces.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro said late Wednesday he would expel Israel’s diplomatic delegation in the South American country if the Israeli military intercepted the flotilla. He said he will also terminate his country’s free trade agreement with Israel.
Petro has repeatedly described Israel’s siege of Gaza as genocide. He broke diplomatic ties with Israel in May 2024 over the Israel-Hamas war, prompting the departure of Ambassador Gali Dagan, but an unspecified number of consular services staff remain in Colombia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also condemned the interception of the flotilla, saying Israeli forces had detained eight Malaysians.
“By blocking a humanitarian mission, Israel has shown utter contempt not only for the rights of the Palestinian people but also for the conscience of the world,” Anwar, whose country is predominantly Muslim, said in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.
European governments, including Spain and Italy, which had sent their navy ships to escort the flotilla during part of its journey, urged the activists to turn back and avoid confrontation. But while Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said late Tuesday the flotilla’s actions risked undermining President Trump’s recent proposal for resolving the war in Gaza, Spain’s prime minister defended them.
“We must remember it is a humanitarian mission that wouldn’t be taking place if the Israeli government had allowed for the entry of aid,” Pedro Sánchez told reporters on Wednesday. Spaniards taking part would benefit from full diplomatic protection, he added.
“They present no threat nor danger to Israel,” he said.
Spain’s government summoned the top Israeli diplomat in the country for discussions about the interceptions on Thursday.
“We are very concerned about the situation with the Sumud flotilla, we are in touch with the families of a number of British nationals involved,” Britain’s foreign office said in a statement. “The aid carried by the flotilla should be turned over to humanitarian organizations on the ground to be delivered safely into Gaza.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that Mandla Mandela was among those on the vessels, and he denounced their interception as evidence of Israeli violations of international law and demanded the immediate release of all of the flotilla “abductees.”
Flotilla boats intercepted as they enter “danger zone” approaching Gaza
The vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt and had entered what activists and others called a “danger zone.” While still in international waters, it is an area where the Israeli navy has stopped other boats attempting to break its blockade in the past and which the flotilla has been warned not to cross.
After a tense encounter with two Israeli military vessels in the early hours of Wednesday, activists had resumed their journey and were broadcasting their voyage on livestreams from several of the boats. Some activists held up messages of solidarity with people in Gaza and chanted “Free Palestine!” on camera. Music could be heard playing in the background.
Global Sumud Flotilla/Handout/Anadolu/Getty 
As night fell, they detected via radar several unidentified vessels approaching them and put their life vests on ahead of the Israeli military’s imminent arrival. Some activists were able to broadcast the moment Israeli forces approached them live from their smartphones before tossing their devices into the water.
The flotilla, which began its journey from the Spanish port of Barcelona a month ago, was to reach the shores of Gaza by Thursday morning, organizers had said earlier.
Activists had acknowledged that scenario was unlikely and were expecting Israeli authorities to try to stop them at any moment, as they have done in past attempts.
But this flotilla, with dozens of boats, was the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli maritime blockade of the Gaza strip that has been ongoing for 18 years.
The Israeli navy had reached out to the flotilla earlier Wednesday warning them that they were approaching an “active combat zone” and asking them to change course, the Israeli foreign ministry said, reiterating its offer to transfer the aid to Gaza through other channels. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the flotilla a provocation.
Israel’s government has accused some of the flotilla members of being linked to Hamas, while providing little evidence to support the claim. Activists have strongly rejected the accusations and said Israel was trying to justify potential attacks on them.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that a state only has jurisdiction up to 12 nautical miles from its shores. In general, states don’t have the right to seize ships in international waters, though armed conflict is an exception to this.
AP 
Yuval Shany, an expert on international law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said that as long as Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “militarily justified” — meant to keep out weapons — and the ship intended to break the siege, Israel can intercept the vessel after prior warning. Whether the blockade is militarily justified and the legality of the blockade is a point of contention.
But the flotilla argues they are a civilian, unarmed group and that the passage of humanitarian aid is guaranteed in international law.
Omer Shatz, an Israeli international law expert who teaches at Sciences Po University in Paris and co-litigated a previous flotilla case before the Israeli supreme court, told The Associated Press that even if the disputed siege of Gaza was considered lawful, “international law paves a humanitarian road from the high seas to Gaza — both in international and national waters off Gaza,” he said.
“If the basic needs of the population are not provided by the occupying power, there is a right to provide humanitarian aid, albeit under certain conditions,” Shatz said. Israel, for example, would have a right to board and search the vessels carrying aid to verify its cargo, similarly to what it does with aid trucks crossing into Gaza by land.
