More than 20 ships were intercepted in a mission aimed at challenging the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel dismissed those on board as “attention-seeking agitators.”
Isreal has intercepted more than twenty aid ships with 175 activists on board, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The ships were on their way to the Gaza Strip before being stopped in international waters near Greece.
This flotilla mission carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza comes after a fleet of around 45 boasts was intercepted last year.
Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching the Gaza strip are not sufficient.
What do we know about the Gaza flotilla interception?
Israeli military boats seized 15 ships near Crete, hundreds of miles from Gaza, according to the mission organizer, Global Sumud Flotilla.
“Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as Israeli, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees,” the organization said in a post on X.
“This is piracy,” the group said in the statement. “This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences,” the group added.
Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon said the flotilla “was stopped before reaching our area,” calling the flotilla members on board “attention-seeking agitators.”
This spring flotilla mission included more than 50 boats, in what the organizers said was the largest coordinated civilian maritime action for the Palestinian territories to date.
Why was the international flotilla heading to Gaza?
Last year, the Freedom Flotilla missions were the most ambitious and largest maritime attempts to reach Gaza. The crew members were arrested on the way and later expelled by Israel.
“The goods on these flotillas do not meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza, but they draw international attention to what is happening in Gaza,” Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, told DW at the time.
Israel set up the naval blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took over as Gaza’s governing body. Israel argues the blockade is necessary to prevent the Islamist militant group, which is categorized as a terror organization by the US, EU and many others, from importing arms.
In the view of many human rights organizations and NGOs, however, the blockade constitutes collective punishment, which is illegal under international law.
Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation has further deteriorated since the start ofIsreal-Hamas war, which was triggered by the Hamas-led terror attacks of October 7, 2023, against Israel. Despite a declared ceasefire on October 25, Israeli attacks have continued to kill hundreds of Palestinians in the enclave.
UN officials and others have said that as part of its ongoing military campaign, Israel is committing war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and deliberate starvation. Some have warned of genocide and famine.
More than 72,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children, are reported to have been killed since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Edited by: Alex Berry
DW News
