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Israel’s navy has taken control of the largest ships in an aid flotilla attempting to breach its blockade of Gaza, organisers of the protest action and the Israeli military said.
About 20 of the larger boats were intercepted on Thursday dozens of kilometres off Gaza’s coastline, and taken to the port of Ashdod. Some of the smaller vessels had continued towards Gaza, the organisers said.
The boats are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international humanitarian effort, and are carrying aid including food intended for residents of the besieged enclave. European lawmakers and international peace activists — including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg — are also aboard.
A video released by Israel’s military showed Thunberg sitting on deck of an unidentified vessel and said she was safe.
The flotilla is the latest attempt to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007. Since then, Palestinian fishermen have been limited to how far they can venture into the Mediterranean and foreign ships have been barred from approaching Gaza.
Israel bombed Gaza’s small port in the early days of the now two-year war against Hamas, and has throttled deliveries of food, water and medicine entering the strip through its land borders. Earlier this year, it imposed an 80-day siege that brought the enclave to the brink of full-blown famine, according to experts.
International efforts to co–ordinate with the Israeli military to build a maritime corridor for supplies from Cyprus to Gaza have failed, as did a shortlived US experiment last year to build a floating pier.
Israeli forces intercepted a similar flotilla in June and detained its passengers, who included Thunberg.
In a video shared, the Israeli military offered to take possession of the aid from the flotilla organisers, scan it at the port of Ashdod and transfer it to Gaza.
The activists on the boat objected that they were being taken to Israel without their consent and brandished their passports. Some threw phones into the sea.
The activists have provided a live video feed of the flotilla’s journey, which has drawn international attention and prompted Italy and Spain to send naval vessels to accompany them temporarily.
The interception in international waters — distinct from the active military combat zone directly off Gaza’s coast — is likely to raise questions about the legality of the Israeli naval actions.
Turkey’s foreign ministry called Israel’s interception “an act of terrorism” that “endangered the lives of innocent civilians”. Separately, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into Israel’s detention of 24 Turkish citizens on the flotilla on charges including deprivation of liberty, hijacking, and plunder, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani expressed relief “that the rules of engagement were respected and there was no violence”, adding that Italian activists and lawmakers on board the flotilla were safe and in “good condition”. Italy’s government has been highly critical of the flotilla.
The legality of Israel’s blockade of Gaza is also under debate at the International Court of Justice, which has yet to issue a ruling on the subject. Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to stop Hamas and other Palestinian militants from smuggling weapons into the enclave.
In 2010, an attempt by a Turkish ship to breach Israel’s blockade resulted in nine people being killed by Israeli forces in international waters, according to later UN investigations.
Additional reporting by John Paul Rathbone in Istanbul and Amy Kazmin in Rome
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