Israel intercepts 175 Gaza flotilla activists on 20 boats

FE Team | Published: April 30, 2026 22:00:27

JERUSALEM, April 30 (AFP): Israel's foreign ministry said Thursday that Israeli forces had arrested about 175 activists aboard 20 ships from an aid-laden flotilla bound for Gaza.
"Approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats... are now making their way peacefully to Israel," the ministry said in a statement, including a video of the activists aboard an Israeli navy ship.
Israel controls all entry points to Gaza, and has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of the war in October 2023.
Reuters adds, Italy condemned Israel's seizure of aid ships bound for Gaza and demands the immediate release of all Italians who have been "unlawfully detained," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Thursday.
Israel intercepted the vessels in international waters near Greece late on Wednesday, a move the organizers -- Global Sumud Flotilla -- called an act of piracy against boats carrying humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Rome also urged Israel to respect international law and guarantee the safety of those on board. It did not say how many Italians had been detained.
"The government reaffirms its commitment to continuing to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza within the framework of our cooperation and in accordance with international law," it said in a statement.
Meloni's right-wing government has been one of Israel's closest friends in Europe, but in recent weeks it has criticised its attacks on Lebanon, which have killed hundreds and injured thousands.
Earlier this month, it suspended a defence cooperation deal with Israel on account of what was happening the Middle East.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for the over 2 million residents and called those onboard the flotilla boats "attention-seeking agitators."
Israel's military had halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation last October in an attempt to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants.
The ships make up part of a second Global Sumud flotilla to try in recent months to break an Israeli blockade by carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. They sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.
The vessels were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, which is hundreds of miles from Gaza, the flotilla's organisers said.
"This is piracy," the group said in a statement. "This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences."
No state had the right to claim, police, or occupy international waters, but Israel had done that, extending its control outward to occupy the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Europe, it added.
Israel's foreign ministry on Thursday called the flotilla organisers "professional provocateurs" and said that its forces acted lawfully.
"Due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law."
Footage released by the organisers showed Israeli soldiers boarding a vessel and crew in life vests with their hands up. Crew members were then taken to Israeli ships.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis confirmed that 55 vessels were sailing some 50 nautical miles off the Peloponnese towards Crete, shadowed by Israeli warships and Greek coastguard vessels late on Wednesday.
Crew from 17 vessels were safe aboard Israeli warships, he said, adding that Athens had not been notified of the Israeli interception, which took place outside Greek jurisdiction.