Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces off Crete left their boats on Friday, with many taken to hospital on the Greek island while others were flown out.
Greek officials said 31 of the roughly 175 activists had been taken to hospital on Crete, while Turkish officials said about 60 had arrived by plane in Istanbul on Friday evening.
More than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking the blockade of Gaza and bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
Photo: Reuters
Israeli forces halted the boats overnight Wednesday to Thursday, with organizers the Global Sumud Flotilla saying their equipment had been smashed and that the intervention had left them facing a “calculated death trap at sea.”
Israel controls all entry points to Gaza. It has been accused by the UN and foreign non-governmental organizations of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in October 2023.
The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier said about 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 vessels on Thursday by its country’s military. Flotilla organizers put the number of “kidnapped” activists at 211.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oren Marmorstein on Friday said: “All the flotilla activists are now in Greece except Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila.”
In a post on X, the ministry called the flotilla “another provocation designed to divert attention from Hamas’ refusal to disarm,” and added that they were serving as “professional provocateurs.”
Keshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization,” and he and Avila, who is suspected of “illegal activity,” would be brought to Israel for questioning, it added.
Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.
Spain demanded the immediate release of Keshek, a Spanish national.
The US, said the flotilla was a “stunt” and the vessels should be denied port access, docking, departure and refueling.
A US Department of State spokesman said Washington was exploring imposing “consequences” on those who support the flotilla.
SPEAKING OUT: After Siranudh Scott’s allegations surfaced, celebrities and public figures took to social media to share their own experiences of sexual misconduct and abuse A high-profile alleged sexual abuse case within a wealthy Thai beer brewing family has prompted a wave of painful accounts from survivors of unconnected abuse in the conservative nation. Siranudh Scott, a member of the billionaire Thai family that founded the ubiquitous Singha beer brand, posted an emotional video this month accusing his elder brother Sunit of repeatedly abusing him when he was a teenager. Sunit, who is in his 30s, later denied the allegations in a video posted online, but Singha parent Boonrawd dismissed him from his executive role with the company on Tuesday last week. “I felt I needed to speak
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
COMMUNITY CONFLICT: Concerns about disease spread from corpses has run up against friends and families’ desire to bury their dead as infection spreads in the area Angry residents of a town at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) attacked and burned a tent that was part of a health center where people are being treated for the virus, the staff there said Saturday. It was the second such attack in the region in a week. No one was hurt in the attack, according to reports but as patients ran out to escape the fire, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections fled the facility and are unaccounted for, a hospital director said. Angry residents arrived at the clinic in the
Forecasters in Europe yesterday warned of exceptional heat as record temperatures driven by a “heat dome” push temperatures well above seasonal norms across the continent. The surge follows a record-breaking Monday, with France logging its hottest day in the month of May on record, its weather agency said, and the UK also posting unprecedented highs. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Restrictions on outdoor work were imposed in parts of Italy, beaches in southwest France filled earlier than usual and
RSS