GAZA, Oct 2 — Israel faced international condemnation and protests on Thursday after its forces intercepted around 40 boats carrying aid and more than 400 foreign activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, to Gaza.
Cameras broadcasting live feeds from the boats, verified by Reuters, showed armed Israeli soldiers sporting helmets and night vision goggles boarding the ships, while passengers huddled together in life vests with their hands up.
A video from the Israeli Foreign Ministry showed Sweden's Thunberg, the most prominent of the flotilla's passengers, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.
Passengers diverted to an Israeli port
Thunberg, 22, best known for her environmental protests, had pre-recorded a video which was released on her behalf after her ship was boarded.
"If you are watching this video, I have been abducted and taken against my will by Israeli forces. Our humanitarian mission was non-violent and abiding by international law," she said.
Those vessels intercepted and those on board were expected to be taken initially to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where one ship was seen arriving by a Reuters witness.
"All the passengers are safe and in good health. They are making their way safely to Israel, from where they will be deported to Europe.
"One last vessel of this provocation remains at a distance. If it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X (formerly Twitter).
The voyage's organiser Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said an estimated 443 volunteers had been detained, some of them transferred to one large cargo vessel before being taken ashore.
Turkiye condemns 'thuggery' directed at flotilla
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticised Israeli aggression, saying it showed Israel's government has no intention of letting hopes for peace grow.
"I condemn the thuggery directed at the global Sumud Flotilla, which set out to draw attention to the barbarity of children dying of hunger in Gaza and to deliver humanitarian aid to the oppressed Palestinians,” he said in a speech to officials from his AK Party in the capital Ankara on Thursday.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said it had launched an investigation into the detention of 24 Turkish citizens on the vessels, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Ajansi reported.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Israel to immediately release South Africans who were on the flotilla, including former president Nelson Mandela's grandson Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela.
Israel-based human rights organisation and legal centre Adalah's director Suhad Bishara said the activists are expected to be transferred to the immigration authority upon arrival in Ashdod, from where they will be moved to Ketziot Prison in southern Israel before being deported.
"Our main concern at this stage, of course, is their well-being, their health condition, as well as making sure that they all get the legal advice prior to the hearings," she told Reuters.
High profile opposition to Gaza blockade
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, is transporting medicine and food to Gaza and consists of more than 40 civilian vessels with parliamentarians, lawyers and activists.
It was not clear how much aid it was carrying, but it represented the highest-profile symbol of opposition to Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt.
The flotilla's progress across the Mediterranean Sea garnered international attention, undefined as nations including Turkiye, Spain, and Italy sent boats or drones in case their nationals required assistance, even as it triggered repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.
Israel's interception of the flotilla sparked protests in Italy and Colombia, while protests were also called in Greece, Ireland, and Turkey. Italian unions called a general strike for Friday.
Hamas expresses support for activists
Israel's navy had previously warned the flotilla it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked organisers to change course. It had offered to transfer any aid peacefully through safe channels to Gaza.
The flotilla is the latest seaborne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war.
In a statement, Hamas expressed support for the activists and called Israel's interception of the flotilla a "criminal act", calling for public protests to condemn Israel.
The boats were about 70 nautical miles off Gaza when they were intercepted, inside a zone that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching. The organisers said their communications, including the use of a live camera feed from some of the boats, had been scrambled.
Israel began its Gaza offensive after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive has killed over 66,000 people in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities say.
