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<\/p>\nPro-Palestinian activists say 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete.<\/p>\n
The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) denounced the action as \u201cpiracy\u201d, saying those on board were seized unlawfully more than 965km (600 miles) from Gaza, which is under an Israeli naval blockade.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s foreign ministry said about 175 activists were detained and dismissed the flotilla as a \u201cPR stunt\u201d. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said they would be \u201cdisembarked on a Greek beach\u201d later on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The GSF\u2019s data showed most of the remaining 36 boats in the flotilla were currently close to Crete\u2019s south coast.<\/p>\n
The flotilla set sail two weeks ago, with a total of 58 vessels joining from Spain, France and Italy, aiming to break Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the GSF said Israeli naval forces had \u201cintercepted, boarded, and systematically disabled and destroyed various boats\u201d in the flotilla during a \u201cviolent raid in international waters\u201d north-west of Crete overnight.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver 180 civilians from around the world have been directly attacked,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter detaining participants, smashing an engine and jamming communications, the [Israeli forces] retreated, kidnapping participants or intentionally leaving civilians stranded on powerless, broken vessels directly in the path of a massive approaching storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel insists its actions comply with international law.<\/p>\n
The Israeli foreign ministry said that \u201cdue to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe operation was carried out in international waters peacefully and without any casualties. An initial inspection of the vessels revealed materials that appear to be drugs and contraceptives,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The ministry accused the flotilla\u2019s organisers of \u201cjoining hands\u201d with the Palestinian armed group Hamas \u201cwith the aim of sabotaging President Trump\u2019s [Gaza] peace plan transition to its second phase and intended to divert attention from Hamas\u2019s refusal to disarm\u201d.<\/p>\n
Later, it said the flotilla had also actively tried to block an Israeli merchant vessel.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s foreign minister then announced that \u201cin co-ordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in a statement for \u201crestraint and universal respect\u201d for international law.<\/p>\n
It said Greece had \u201casked Israel to withdraw its vessels from the region\u201d and offered to receive the passengers and ensure their safe return home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Greek authorities are in consultation with the Israeli authorities regarding the issue of safe disembarkation,\u201d it added, and ministry officials are \u201cproceeding to the point of arrival\u201d to coordinate the operation.<\/p>\n
A government spokesman earlier told reporters the Israeli naval vessels were outside Greece\u2019s territorial waters when the interception happened, and that there was no prior consultation between Israeli and Greek authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreek authorities do not have the right to intervene in international waters except in a search and rescue operation. If needed, they are on high alert,\u201d Pavlos Marinakis said.<\/p>\n
He added that early on Thursday, the Greek coast guard \u201cwas informed by its Israeli counterpart that 17 vessels of the flotilla are abandoned and unruly in international waters, and that the people on board are on Israeli warships and are in good health\u201d.<\/p>\n
Greek centre-left opposition politician Dimitris Mantzos called on the government to explain how it would respond to \u201cthis illegal act\u201d.<\/p>\n
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the seizure and demanded Israel immediately release \u201call the unlawfully detained Italians\u201d. Italian media reported that 24 Italians had been detained.<\/p>\n
Meloni also called for the \u201cfull respect of international law and guarantees on the physical safety of the people on board\u201d.<\/p>\n
European Union foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni told reporters: \u201cWe reiterate our call on Israeli authorities to respect international law, including international humanitarian law and international maritime law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tariq Ra\u2019ouf, a Palestinian-American writer and activist, told BBC News Arabic he was on one of the flotilla\u2019s support vessels in Greek waters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spirits on board are high, we are determined to keep doing what we can to support the ending of Israel\u2019s illegal siege on Gaza,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am feeling shocked and dismayed at the impunity of Israel\u2019s actions, and how they have managed to break international law repeatedly but most especially this far away from Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
flotilla (Hind Rajab Foundation)<\/p>\n
Israel stopped the previous flotilla set up by the GSF from reaching Gaza last October, arresting and then deporting more than 470 people who were on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.<\/p>\n
According to the GSF, the latest flotilla\u2019s objectives are to \u201cchallenge Israel\u2019s illegal blockade, advance the opening of a permanent humanitarian corridor, and intensify coordinated international pressure on governments and corporations complicit in its enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Cogat, the Israeli defence body that controls Gaza\u2019s land crossings, said Israel was facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza and that there was \u201cno limit on the amount of aid that can enter\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, a senior UN official warned that the situation in Gaza was steadily worsening, with the territory\u2019s 2.1 million population \u201cfacing ongoing and deadly Israeli strikes and dire humanitarian conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some improvements in access and aid delivery have been observed in recent weeks, unpredictable access, limited operational crossings, and restrictions on critical humanitarian items termed as \u2018dual use\u2019 by Israel continue to constrain UN response,\u201d UN Assistant Secretary General Khaled Khiari told the Security Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood security remains a challenge, while essential services, particularly water, sanitation, and health, are again on the brink of collapse,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Last August, experts from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed there was a famine in Gaza City.<\/p>\n
In December, they said there had been improvements in nutrition and food supplies following a ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas in October as part of Trump\u2019s Gaza peace plan, but that 100,000 people were still experiencing catastrophic conditions. That figure was projected to decrease to 1,900 by mid-April.<\/p>\n
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.<\/p>\n
Israel responded by launching a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, during which more than 72,600 people have been killed, including 824 since the start of the ceasefire, according to the territory\u2019s Hamas-run health ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pro-Palestinian activists say 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[37],"class_list":{"0":"post-93236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-israel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116500680172412702","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}