Israel intercepted several boats from a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid on Wednesday night as they tried to break Israel’s longstanding maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, according to statements from flotilla organizers.
“Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessel Sirius along with other boats in international waters,” organizers said in a post on the flotilla’s official Instagram account. The statement said that the boats’ communications, including livestreams, had been cut off and that the state of the passengers and crew was unknown.
“This is an illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians,” the post read.
Adnaan Stumo, an American volunteer on the flotilla, said in a voice message that at least three boats had been intercepted and had military personnel aboard. The other boats were still moving forward slowly, he said.
Israel’s foreign ministry posted a video of a woman in uniform talking on a telephone, identifying herself as “the Israeli Navy.” She calls on the flotilla to stop, saying it is “approaching a blockaded zone,” and says its organizers can send aid to Gaza “through the established channels,” urging the flotilla to head to the port of Ashdod, in Israel, instead of proceeding to Gaza.
The ministry says in the post that the flotilla organizers “are not interested in aid, but in provocation.”
The encounter had been long anticipated by the activists on the flotilla, including the climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who have livestreamed their trip across the Mediterranean Sea on social media. Videos have showed them training for nonviolent responses to potential encounters with Israeli commandos.
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The post Activists Say Israel Has Intercepted Boats Headed to Gaza With Aid appeared first on New York Times.
