ATHENS, Greece — Activists aboard dozens of boats attempting to breach Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid say Israeli forces intercepted them overnight Wednesday into Thursday and detained crew members while the flotilla was sailing near the southern Greek island of Crete.
The Global Sumud Flotilla departed earlier this month from Barcelona. Organizers said more than 70 boats and about 1,000 people from around the world were taking part, with additional vessels joining as the group moved east across the Mediterranean.
The effort follows a similar attempt foiled by Israeli authorities less than a year ago. In a press release, the flotilla organizers called Israel’s actions “a dangerous and unprecedented escalation, the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that it was taking roughly 175 activists from more than 20 boats to Israel.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel and Egypt have enforced varying degrees of a blockade. Israel says the restrictions are necessary to stop arms imports to Hamas; critics argue the blockade amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population.
Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the seizure Thursday as “an act of piracy,” saying Israel violated humanitarian principles and international law by targeting a flotilla meant to draw attention to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli added that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had discussed the raid by phone with Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno.
Activists in Greece planned a protest Thursday outside the Greek foreign ministry in Athens, saying the interception occurred within a maritime zone where Greece is responsible for search and rescue operations and accusing the Greek coast guard of failing to respond.
A fragile six-month ceasefire in Gaza has ended the most intense recent fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants, but the enclave has continued to suffer violence. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports more than 790 people killed since the ceasefire began and says 72,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which 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 aims to highlight those living conditions, particularly as global attention pivots to the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran.
Last year’s flotilla attempt included dozens of boats sailing near Gaza, with one vessel crossing the 12-nautical-mile line that separates international and territorial waters; all were ultimately intercepted, seized or turned away. Participants then included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Those activists said they were abused while detained; Israeli authorities denied the allegations and later deported them.