Israeli naval commandos have boarded and intercepted dozens of vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in international waters west of Cyprus, detaining hundreds of activists from dozens of countries who were attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Organisers said at least 40 of the flotilla's 54 boats were intercepted on Monday morning, roughly 250 nautical miles (460 km) from Gaza's coast, while live video broadcast on the group's website showed armed commandos approaching and boarding vessels as passengers raised their hands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the operation, telling the naval commander in charge that forces were doing "an outstanding job" in "neutralising a malicious plan designed to break the isolation we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza."
The flotilla, which organisers said carried food, baby formula and medical supplies, departed the Turkish port of Marmaris last Thursday with more than 460 activists from 45 countries on board. It was the third attempted voyage by the same organisation. Last month, Israeli forces intercepted around 22 GSF vessels near the Greek island of Crete, detaining 181 activists; almost all were released in Greece the following day, though a Brazilian and a Spanish-Palestinian activist were held in Israel for ten days before being deported. Among those detained in Monday's interception were Pakistani activist Saad Edhi — grandson of renowned philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi — three Brazilian women including the flotilla's Brazilian coordinator, nine Indonesian nationals, around two dozen Turkish citizens, and Margaret Connolly, sister of Ireland's President Catherine Connolly. Ireland's president, speaking in London, said she was "worried" about her sister and that the incident appeared to have taken place in international waters.
Israel's foreign ministry defended the operation as lawful, insisting its naval blockade of Gaza — in place since 2007, when the Islamist movement Hamas took control of the territory — is legal under international law. It characterised the flotilla as a political provocation rather than a genuine aid mission, alleging involvement by Turkish groups it described as linked to terrorism, and claiming that more than 1.5 million tonnes of aid had entered Gaza over the past seven months. The GSF denied any affiliation with those groups and said none of its vessels flew the Turkish flag. Turkey's foreign ministry condemned the interception as "a new act of piracy," and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the international community to act.
A joint statement signed by the foreign ministers of ten countries — Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives and Spain — condemned the interception "in the strongest terms," calling it a "blatant violation of international law" and demanding the immediate release of all detained activists. Hamas called the operation "state terrorism," while the GSF accused Israel of maintaining what it described as a "genocidal siege" on Gaza.
The context for the flotilla is the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the United Nations says most of the 2.1 million residents remain displaced more than a year and a half into the conflict. The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The UN has reported persistent shortages of clean water, medical equipment and fuel, with a significant portion of approved aid shipments never reaching their destinations inside the territory.