The Israeli military yesterday 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 organizers and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The interception came ahead of talks in Egypt of a planned ceasefire and after nearly 450 activists, including European lawmakers and climate activist Greta Thunberg, last week were intercepted on more than 40 boats trying to reach Gaza with a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid.
That incident drew widespread condemnation and sparked protests in several major cities and a one-day strike across Italy.
Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition via AP
The ministry yesterday said the 145 activists in the latest interception were in good health, being brought to Israel for processing and were expected to be deported soon.
The organizers of the nine-vessel group — made up of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza — said yesterday’s detentions were “arbitrary and unlawful.”
The activists on board included doctors, politicians and three Turkish lawmakers. The flotilla was carrying some food and medical aid destined for Gaza hospitals.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the Israeli military’s actions “an act of privacy.”
Organizers said the boats were intercepted about 120 nautical miles (222.24km) off the coast of Gaza. In footage of the interceptions released by the organizers, the flotilla boats were approached by fast-moving ships and then boarded by Israeli troops. No injuries were reported.
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 currently in the third day of indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Hamas yesterday said that “optimism” was prevailing in the talks that aimed to thrash out a plan to implement a 20-point peace proposal US President Donald Trump put forward last month.
The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages, Hamas’ disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish National Intelligence Organization Director Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were all due in Sharm el-Sheikh.
“The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties,” senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said.
The Palestinian militant group submitted a list of prisoners it wants to be released in the first phase of the truce “in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers”, Nunu added.
In exchange, Hamas is set to release 47 hostages, both alive and dead, who were seized in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Additional reporting by AFP
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