ATHENS, Greece — Israeli forces intercepted and detained crew members from dozens of boats trying to break the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, activists said, after the convoy was sailing near the southern Greek island of Crete early Thursday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set out from Barcelona earlier this month. Organizers say the effort involved more than 70 vessels and roughly 1,000 participants from around the world, with additional boats joining as the group traveled east across the Mediterranean.
Flotilla organizers described the interception as a ‘‘dangerous and unprecedented escalation,’’ calling it ‘‘the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza.’’ Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that about 175 activists from more than 20 boats were being taken to Israel.
The naval blockade of Gaza has been enforced in varying degrees by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israel says the restrictions are intended to prevent weapons reaching Hamas; critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population.
Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the seizure, calling it an ‘‘act of piracy’’ and accusing Israel of violating humanitarian principles and international law. A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan raised the raid in a phone call with Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno.
In Athens, activists planned a protest outside the Greek foreign ministry on Thursday. They said the interception occurred in a maritime zone where Greece is responsible for search-and-rescue operations and accused the Greek coast guard of failing to respond.
A fragile six-month ceasefire has eased the most intense recent fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, but violence and casualties have continued. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported more than 790 people killed since the ceasefire began and said 72,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
About 2 million people in Gaza remain in devastated conditions, facing shortages of food and medicine and receiving only limited aid through a single Israeli-controlled crossing. Flotilla organizers said the voyage was intended to draw attention to those conditions, particularly as global focus shifts to tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Last year’s flotilla attempt also involved dozens of vessels. One boat crossed the 12-nautical-mile line that separates territorial waters from international waters; others were intercepted, seized or turned away. Participants in that effort included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Those detained then reported mistreatment; Israeli authorities denied the allegations and later deported the activists.