Israeli naval forces attacked an international aid flotilla bound for the besieged Gaza Strip and detained at least 443 activists on board, organizers said on Thursday.
According to the official flotilla tracker, 21 vessels were attacked by Israeli naval forces, 19 others are believed to have been attacked, and three are still en route to Gaza.
A statement by the Global Sumud Flotilla said activists on the vessels were forcibly taken from their vessels by the Israeli forces, describing their detention as “unlawful abduction.”
It confirmed that 443 activists from 47 countries were being transferred to Ashdod.
The activists aboard the ships attacked by Israel were of various nationalities, including Spaniards, Italians, Brazilians, Turks, Greeks, Americans, Germans, Swedes, British, and French citizens, and many others.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the detained activists were on their way to Israel’s Ashdod Port, from where they would be deported to Europe.
The ministry said one vessel remains at distance, vowing to prevent it from approaching the area.
The tracker showed that the Mikeno vessel entered Gaza’s territorial waters, but the tracking signal was lost with the vessel when it was about 9.3 nautical miles from the enclave.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli forces surrounded the vessels as they sailed toward Gaza to challenge a years-long Israeli blockade. Activists reported signal jamming and communication cut aboard most of the boats.
Several activists posted videos on social media showing Israeli naval boats approaching the convoy and ordering them to change course.
“We are being attacked right now by the Zionist (Israeli) army,” the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza said through the US social media company X.
The committee accused Israel of using violence against the activists, saying naval forces rammed one ship, deployed water cannons, and forcibly boarded vessels, while “brutally mistreating peaceful detainees from 50 countries around the world.”
The aid flotilla was less than 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) from Gaza before being attacked by the Israeli Navy.
Activists spotted more than 20 Israeli naval boats approaching the convoy, with the navy ordering them to change course.
The attack came as the convoy already passed the point at which the Madleen and Handala ships were also attacked by Israel in June and July.
Livestream footage from the flotilla showed activists donning life vests as the Israeli boats approached the vessels.
The Israeli raid came despite appeals by international organizations, including Amnesty International, for the protection of the aid flotilla. The UN also warned that any attack on the convoy would be unacceptable.
Israel, as the occupying power, has previously attacked Gaza-bound ships, seized their cargo, and deported activists on board.
The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August. It was the first time in years that more than 50 ships sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civilian supporters from over 45 countries.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.
