Israeli navy intercepts Global Sumud Flotilla as it approaches Gaza to break siege

The Global Sumud Flotilla announced Wednesday that live broadcasts were cut off from most of its ships as Israeli naval forces surrounded the vessels sailing toward Gaza to challenge a years-long blockade.

Organizers said the interception occurred as Israeli warships blocked communications and moved to halt the convoy.

The International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) confirmed that Israeli forces stormed the ships Alma and Sirius.

Several activists posted videos on social media confirming that Israeli naval boats approached the convoy and ordered them to change course.

“We are being attacked right now by the Zionist (Israeli) army,” the ICBSG said on the US social media company X.

“High Alert. Our vessels are being illegally intercepted. Cameras are offline, and vessels have been boarded by military personnel.”

The committee said the captain of the ship Alma, the lead vessel in the flotilla, defied an order from the Israeli army to stop.

“Some ships have already been intercepted and a state of emergency has been declared aboard all vessels,” it added.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that it had reached the aid flotilla and ordered the activists to change course.

The ministry published a video of a naval lieutenant demanding that the activists change their course toward the port of Ashdod in southern Israel to have the aid undergo a security inspection and then be transferred into Gaza.

The ministry confirmed that some activists were detained and would be transferred to an Israeli port.

The public broadcaster KAN reported that Israeli naval forces had already boarded several ships and begun taking control of the flotilla.

Israeli Channel 13, citing sources, said that the operation to take control of the flotilla vessels will continue until Thursday.

The ICBSG said that around 70 activists have so far been detailed, while 40 vessels continued sailing toward Gaza, becoming 165 kilometers away from their destination.

Israel has repeatedly warned the flotilla to turn back from its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and change its course.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August and was expected to reach Gaza’s coast on Thursday morning under normal circumstances.

This marked the first time in years that more than 50 ships have sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civilian supporters from over 45 countries to the enclave of 2.4 million Palestinians that has been under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years.

Israel tightened the siege further on March 2 by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.