The Israeli military intercepted the last boat in a performative flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza on Friday, a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said the Marinette was intercepted some 42.5 nautical miles (79 kilometres) from Gaza. Israeli army radio said the navy had taken control of the last ship in the flotilla, detained those aboard and that the vessel was being led to Ashdod port in Israel.
In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla complained that Israeli naval forces had now, "illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza."
A camera broadcasting from the Marinette showed someone holding up a note saying, "We see a ship! It's a war ship," before a boat is seen approaching and soldiers boarding. A voice is heard telling the people on board not to move and to put their hands in the air.
Various flotilla representatives have, however, made a variety of outlandish statements over the past few weeks, including claims of Israeli drones attacking vessels.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the boat's status. The ministry said on Thursday the flotilla's one remaining vessel would be prevented from breaching the blockade if it tried to.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the enclave, almost two years into Israel's siege of Gaza which was sparked by militant group Hamas' October 7 attacks.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. The foreign ministry had said the flotilla was previously warned that it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a "lawful naval blockade", and asked organisers to change course. It had offered to transfer aid to Gaza.
The Israeli foreign ministry on Friday said that four Italians had been deported. "The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible," it said in a statement. All the flotilla participants were "safe and in good health", it added.
Anti-Israel demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Europe as well as in Karachi, Buenos Aires and Mexico City on Thursday to protest the flotilla's interception.
On Friday, thousands of Italians demonstrated, as part of a day-long general strike called by unions in support of the flotilla.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed calling the activists "terrorists" as he stood in front of them. "These are the terrorists of the flotilla," he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Some activists are heard shouting "Free Palestine".
Cyprus said one of the flotilla boats had docked in Cyprus with 21 foreigners aboard. The vessel had asked to dock in Larnaca for refuelling and humanitarian reasons, a Cypriot government spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not identify the boat, or say whether it had been among those stopped by the Israeli military.
Israel's offensive began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed during the assault, and 251 were taken hostage.
Israel has accepted a new US proposal announced this week to end the war that demands Hamas surrender. US President Donald Trump, who said he would temporarily oversee governance of Gaza under the plan, has given Hamas a few days to respond, and warned Hamas that Israel would continue its siege of Gaza if the group refused.
(Additional reporting by Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Angeliki Koutantou in Athens and Alvise Armellini; Angelo Amante in Rome; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams and Sharon Singleton)
