TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military intercepted a nine-boat flotilla early Wednesday in the Mediterranean Sea trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and detained scores of activists on board, the flotilla organizers and the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry said the 145 activists, who were in good health, were being brought to shore in Israel for processing and are expected to be deported soon.
The interception came after nearly 450 activists, including European lawmakers and climate activist Greta Thunberg, were intercepted on more than 40 boats last week trying to reach Gaza with a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid.
That interception, of the Global Sumud Flotilla, drew widespread condemnation and sparked large protests in several major cities and a one-day strike across Italy.
The organizers of this latest, nine-vessel group — made up of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza — decried the detentions Wednesday as “arbitrary and unlawful.” The activists on board included doctors, politicians and three Turkish lawmakers. The flotilla was carrying some food and medical aid destined for Gaza hospitals.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
Organizers said the boats were intercepted around 120 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza. In footage of the interceptions released by the organizers, the flotilla boats were approached by fast moving ships and then boarded by Israeli troops. No injuries were reported.
Some of the deported activists from last week’s flotilla had described mistreatment at the hands of Israeli guards, claims that Israel denies.
The flotillas to Gaza came amid surging criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where its offensive in the war against Hamas has laid waste wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people.
Israel and Hamas are currently in the third day of indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm Al-Sheikh, along with high-level leaders from international delegations, including the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The militants killed some 1,200 people that day, while 251 others were abducted. Forty-eight hostages are still held in Gaza — around 20 believed to be alive.
Israel’s ensuing campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and whose figures are viewed by experts as the most reliable estimate, has said women and children make up around half the dead.
Israel has maintained varying degrees of blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power in the coastal territory in 2007, saying it is necessary to contain the militant group. Critics deride the policy as collective punishment.
After the war started, Israel tightened the blockade but eased up later under U.S. pressure. In March, it sealed the territory off from all food, medicine and other goods for 2 ½ months, contributing to Gaza’s slide into famine.
The flotillas say they want to break Israel’s blockade and establish a humanitarian corridor by sea, given the little aid that reaches Gaza by land.
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Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
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