Gaza aid flotilla, including Greek vessel, intercepted by Israeli forces

A screengrab from a unrecorded stream video shows Israeli navy forces aboard the Gaza-bound vessel Oxygono, portion of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which flotilla organisers study has been intercepted, October 2, 2025. [Global Sumud Flotilla/Handout via Reuters]

Israeli forces person stopped 13 boats – including the Greek Oxygono (Oxygen) – carrying overseas activists and assistance bound for Gaza, but 30 boats are continuing to sail towards the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, flotilla organizers said connected Thursday.

A video from the Israeli overseas ministry verified by Reuters showed the astir salient of the flotilla’s passengers, Swedish clime campaigner Greta Thunberg, sitting connected a platform surrounded by soldiers.

“Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla person been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” the Israeli overseas ministry said connected X. “Greta and her friends are harmless and healthy.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla, transporting medicine and nutrient to Gaza, consists of much than 40 civilian boats with astir 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists.

The flotilla enactment retired respective videos connected Telegram with messages from individuals aboard the various boats, some holding their passports and claiming they were abducted and taken to Israel against their will, and reiterating that their ngo was a non-violent humanitarian cause.

A station connected κοινωνικά media from marchtogaza_greece described the cognition arsenic “an enactment of planetary piracy, successful violation of International Law and the Law of the Sea.”

“Our comrades are being abducted astatine this very infinitesimal and taken against their will to an unknown location. We request that the Greek authorities warrant their contiguous and harmless instrumentality to the country,” it added

Earlier, Peti Perka, an MP with the New Left who was connected committee the Oxygono, posted a video connected Instagram successful which she said Israeli warships had appeared:

“For a moment, we believed – we wanted to judge – that tomorrow astatine noon we would beryllium successful Gaza, capable to clasp the children waiting for us. Unfortunately, arsenic we anticipated, 4 miles up of the pb vessels, Israeli warships person present appeared. So we are waiting for them to travel to us arsenic well.”

The flotilla is the astir high-profile symbol of absorption to Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Its advancement crossed the Mediterranean Sea garnered planetary attraction arsenic nations including Turkey, Spain and Italy sent boats oregon drones successful lawsuit their nationals required assistance, adjacent arsenic it triggered repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.

Turkey’s overseas ministry called Israel’s “attack” connected the flotilla “an enactment of terror” that endangered the lives of guiltless civilians.

Israel’s navy had antecedently warned the flotilla it was approaching an progressive combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked them to alteration course. It had offered to transfer immoderate assistance peacefully done harmless channels to Gaza.

The flotilla is the latest sea-borne effort to interruption Israel’s blockade of Gaza, overmuch of which has been turned into a wasteland by astir two years of war.

The flotilla’s organizers denounced Wednesday’s raid arsenic a “war crime.” They said the subject used assertive tactics, including the use of water cannon, but that nary 1 was harmed.

“Multiple vessels … were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces successful planetary waters,” the organizers said successful a statement.

The boats were astir 70 nautical miles disconnected the war-ravaged enclave when they were intercepted, wrong a zone that Israel is policing to stop immoderate boats approaching. The organizers said their communications had been scrambled, including the use of a unrecorded camera provender from some of the boats. According to the flotilla’s vessel tracking data, 13 boats had been intercepted oregon stopped arsenic of aboriginal Thursday. Organizers person remained defiant, saying successful a statement that the flotilla “will proceed undeterred.”

Thirty boats were still sailing towards Gaza, flotilla organizers said successful a station connected Telegram aboriginal connected Thursday, stating they were 46 nautical miles distant from their destination.

The flotilla had hoped to get successful Gaza connected Thursday greeting if it was not intercepted.
Israeli officials person repeatedly denounced the ngo arsenic a stunt. “This systematic refusal (to manus implicit the aid) demonstrates that the nonsubjective is not humanitarian, but provocative,” Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said successful a station connected X.

Israel has imposed a naval blockade connected Gaza since Hamas took power of the coastal enclave successful 2007 and there person been respective erstwhile attempts by activists to present assistance by sea.

In 2010, 9 activists were killed aft Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by 700 pro-Palestinian activists from 50 countries. In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Thunberg and 11 unit members from a small vessel organized by a pro-Palestinian radical called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition arsenic they approached Gaza.

Israel began its Gaza violative aft the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught connected Israel successful which some 1,200 radical were killed and 251 taken arsenic hostages backmost to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The violative has killed implicit 65,000 radical successful Gaza, Gaza wellness authorities say. [Reuters/AMNA]