Activists say Israel is intercepting Gaza-bound aid ships

By Renata Brito and Ibrahim Hazboun Associated Press JERUSALEM Activists on board a flotilla of vessels sailing toward Gaza announced late Wednesday that the Israeli navy had intercepted of its boats as they approached the besieged Palestinian territory Israeli administration declared the activists on board including Greta Thunberg were safe and being transferred to Israel The Global Sumud Flotilla composed of nearly boats and activists is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza The Sirius Alma and Adara boats were intercepted various nautical miles miles from the coast of Gaza according to organizers who shared live positions of the flotilla The group which includes Nelson Mandela s grandson Mandla Mandela former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and several European lawmakers explained it remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade and bring aid to Palestinians Just before dawn organizers revealed on their official Telegram channel that of boats had been intercepted and disclosed the remaining vessels would keep sailing toward Gaza Greg Stoker an American veteran aboard the Ohwayla one of the boats in the flotilla stated that around a dozen naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it They are now hailing our vessels telling us to turn off our engines and await further instructions or our boats will be seized and we will face the consequences he commented in a shaky video posted on Instagram Israeli agents used water cannons against selected of the boats Stoker and other activists released on social media The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing Thunberg sitting on a ship s deck being handed a water bottle and raincoat It noted that several boats have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port Greta and her friends are safe and healthy Italy s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani mentioned the Israeli operation was expected to take - hours He notified state TV Rai that the boats would be towed to Israel s port of Ashdod and the activists would be deported in the coming days He also commented Israeli forces have been described not to use violence Turkey s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel s interception of the boats denouncing it as an act of terrorism and severe breach of international law In a declaration the ministry announced it was taking initiatives to ensure the immediate release of Turkish citizens and other passengers detained by the Israeli forces The flotilla enters a danger zone The vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt and had entered what activists and others called a danger zone While still in international waters it is an area where the Israeli navy has stopped other boats attempting to break its blockade in the past and which the flotilla has been warned not to cross After a tense encounter with two Israeli military vessels in the early hours of Wednesday activists had resumed their journey and were broadcasting their voyage on livestreams from several of the boats Certain activists held up messages of solidarity with people in Gaza and chanted Free Palestine on camera Music could be heard playing in the background As night fell they detected via radar several unidentified vessels approaching them and put their life vests on ahead of the Israeli military s imminent arrival Selected activists were able to broadcast the moment Israeli forces approached them live from their smartphones before tossing their devices into the water The flotilla which began its journey from the Spanish port of Barcelona a month ago was to reach the shores of Gaza by Thursday morning organizers had noted earlier Activists had acknowledged that scenario was unlikely and were expecting Israeli functionaries to try to stop them at any moment as they have done in past attempts But this flotilla with dozens of boats was the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli maritime blockade of the Gaza strip that has been ongoing for years Israel and other governments had warned them to turn back The Israeli navy had reached out to the flotilla earlier Wednesday warning them that they were approaching an functioning combat zone and asking them to change curriculum the Israeli foreign ministry explained reiterating its offer to transfer the aid to Gaza through other channels Israel s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the flotilla a provocation Israel s executive has accused various of the flotilla members of being linked to Hamas while providing little evidence to backing the claim Activists have strongly rejected the accusations and revealed Israel was trying to justify probable attacks on them European governments including Spain and Italy which had sent their navy ships to escort the flotilla during part of its journey urged the activists to turn back and avoid confrontation But while Italy s Premier Giorgia Meloni declared late Tuesday the flotilla s actions risked undermining U S President Donald Trump s new proposal for resolving the war in Gaza Spain s prime minister defended them We must remember it is a humanitarian mission that wouldn t be taking place if the Israeli cabinet had allowed for the entry of aid Pedro S nchez advised reporters on Wednesday Spaniards taking part would benefit from full diplomatic protection he added They present no threat nor danger to Israel he announced What international maritime law says The U N Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that a state only has jurisdiction up to nautical miles kilometers from its shores In general states don t have the right to seize ships in international waters though armed conflict is an exception to this Related Articles Trump and Netanyahu say they ve agreed on a plan to end the Gaza war Hamas is now reviewing it Constantly a showman Netanyahu again turns to props and visual aids as he fends off critics at the UN Palestinians will not leave their president tells world leaders at UN in defiant virtual speech More experts see genocide in Israel s wartime conduct in Gaza Controversial antisemitism bill awaits Newsom s signature Yuval Shany an expert on international law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem explained that as long as Israel s blockade of Gaza is militarily justified meant to keep out weapons and the ship intended to break the siege Israel can intercept the vessel after prior warning Whether the blockade is militarily justified and the legality of the blockade is a point of contention But the flotilla argues they are a civilian unarmed group and that the passage of humanitarian aid is guaranteed in international law Omer Shatz an Israeli international law expert who teaches at Sciences Po University in Paris and co-litigated a previous flotilla occurrence before the Israeli supreme court described The Associated Press that even if the disputed siege of Gaza was considered lawful international law paves a humanitarian road from the high seas to Gaza both in international and national waters off Gaza he explained If the basic necessities of the population are not provided by the occupying power there is a right to provide humanitarian aid albeit under certain conditions Shatz explained Israel for example would have a right to board and search the vessels carrying aid to verify its cargo similarly to what it does with aid trucks passing into Gaza by land Brito communicated from Barcelona Spain