The Israeli navy intercepted an aid flotilla with dozens of boats attempting to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza on Wednesday night into Thursday, detaining over 20 flotilla ships and 175 activists.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set off for Gaza from Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month and was intercepted while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea near the Greek island of Crete. Their attempt marks the second flotilla group that Israel has intercepted in the past year.
Flotilla organizers condemned the interception, saying it marked “a dangerous and unprecedented escalation: the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world.”
They claimed the action was “piracy,” condemning Israel for the “unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea,” adding that the action was “an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also spoke out against the seizure of the flotilla.
“By targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.
Protests have sparked across the globe in support of the activists in Italy, Argentina, France, and Spain.
At the same time, the U.S.-led Board of Peace said it has significantly increased support for the people of Gaza, claiming it has tripled its outreach since the ceasefire began.
“We are currently hard at work on the next critical step in Gaza’s recovery: finalizing the process by which Hamas decommissions its weapons and allows for the transition to a new government that will lead the redevelopment of this war-torn region,” the board wrote in a statement on X. “This will allow us to accelerate aid and rebirth.”
Still, it spoke against the flotilla, calling it “performative love-boat activism of people who know nothing of and care even less for the condition of Gazans.”
“It is distasteful to trade on the misery of people to build your social media profile,” it said, adding that activists should instead pressure Hamas to rebuild the communities it “destroyed.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted the Israeli navy’s action.
“Well done to our Navy!” He said, adding that the mission to prevent the”Hamas-supporting flotilla” from reaching Gaza was executed with “complete success” in a statement on X, translated from Hebrew.