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ROME/ATHENS, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Israeli military personnel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver medicine and food to Gaza and boarded its boats as it approached the war-ravaged enclave, the mission's organisers said.
Some 20 vessels were seen approaching the flotilla earlier on Wednesday night, multiple people on board said, as passengers put on life vests and braced for a takeover.

"Multiple vessels ... were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters," the organisers said in a statement. "We are diligently working to account for all participants and crew."

It said that its communications were jammed before boarding began, which interfered with cameras that were providing live streams from various boats and communications between vessels.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, despite repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.

It is about 70 nautical miles off the war-ravaged Strip, inside a zone that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching.
A live video feed from one of the boats in the flotilla showed passengers in life vests sitting on deck.
It is not clear how many of the boats had been intercepted or stopped. Some passengers said their vessels continued to advance.
Organisers remained defiant, saying in the statement that the flotilla "will continue undeterred".

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment about intercepting the vessels.
Its foreign ministry earlier said the navy had warned the flotilla it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked them to change course.
The ministry said that it reiterated the offer to transfer any aid peacefully through safe channels to Gaza.

The flotilla is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war.

The flotilla had been hoping to arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning if it was not intercepted.
This was the second time the flotilla was approached on Wednesday. Before dawn, the mission's organisers said two Israeli "warships" had approached fast and encircled two of the flotilla's boats. All navigation and communication devices went down in what one organiser on board described as a "cyber attack".
A video post on the flotilla's Instagram page showed the silhouette of what appeared to be a military vessel with a gun turret near the civilian boats.
Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed from the flotilla, but could not confirm the identity of the other vessel in the video or when the video was taken.
Last week the flotilla was attacked by drones, which dropped stun grenades and itching powder on the vessels, causing damage but no injuries.
Israel did not comment on that attack, but has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal enclave.
Italy and Spain deployed naval ships to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs but stopped following the flotilla once it got within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of Gaza for safety reasons. Turkish drones have also followed the boats.
Italy and Greece on Wednesday jointly called on Israel not to hurt the activists aboard and called on the flotilla to hand over its aid to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza - a plea the flotilla has previously rejected.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt.

"This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative. They are not seeking to help, they are seeking an incident," Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on X.

At the press conference held by organisers on Wednesday, Francesca Albanese, the top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights, said any interception of the flotilla "would be yet another violation of international law, the law of the sea" since Israel had no legal jurisdiction on waters off Gaza.
Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver aid by sea.
In 2010, nine activists were killed after 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 crew members from a small ship organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza.

asolocoaso:
The illegality of netenyahu a war criminal will soon be exposed

Botragelad:
Childish

asolocoaso:
International law must remain the compass. The directives of the ICC (International Criminal Court) and the United Nations are binding frameworks, not optional suggestions.

To describe the situation merely as a ‘war zone’ is reductive. What we are witnessing is an unfolding genocide, overseen by an individual, Netanyahu, who stands accused on the world stage as a perpetrator of international crimes.

Under such conditions, the people of the region, and the broader international community, reserve the moral and legal right to challenge an illegal blockade and to render humanitarian aid directly to the Palestinian population.

asolocoaso:
I am childish

HydraFeeds:
It's only a man with warped mind that will prevent aids especially food to be delivered to his fellow men because of differences in ethnic or religious identities.

One thing is certain, flotilla will reach Gaza .

malali:
Israel intercepts humanitarian flotilla headed to Gaza, with forces boarding some boats
At least 20 Israeli military vessels have boarded a pro-Palestinian flotilla roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza, as it attempted to breach the maritime blockade and bring humanitarian aid.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including the Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and the actor Susan Sarandon, was heading towards Gaza bringing humanitarian aid despite repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.

“You are approaching a blockaded zone,” an Israeli Navy official announced to the flotilla. “If you wish to deliver aid to Gaza, you may do so through the established channels,” instructing the boats to change course.

The vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt on Wednesday afternoon and entered what has been described as a “danger zone” or “high risk 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.

About 7.25 pm, roughly 20 Israeli naval ships approached the flotilla and ordered the boats to turn off their engines, activists said on social media. Live footage from the flotilla showed passengers seated in a semi-circle, wearing lifejackets as they awaited interception. A number of camera live-feeds have gone offline.

Several of the activists onboard the boats released pre-recorded videos on their social media accounts, telling viewers that if they were watching the videos, it meant they had been captured by Israeli forces.

The interceptions were confirmed by the Israeli foreign ministry, which said: ‘‘The Israeli navy has reached out to the Gaza aid flotilla and asked them to change course toward Israeli port of Ashdod where aid can be unloaded and transferred to Gaza Strip.”

A journalist and activist on one of the flotilla’s boats, Greg J Stoker, said in a video posted to X that a number of other flotilla vessels were targeted with water cannons deployed by Israeli government forces.

In the video, Stoker says that there seems to be one ship going back and forth, between the flotilla boats and the port, that may be transferring those detained by the Israeli government.

Greta Thunberg arrested by Israeli forces
Greta Thunberg, who was on the Alma in the flotilla, was arrested and taken into custody at the port of Ashdod.

Israeli military have now taken control of six vessels: Sirus, Alma, Spectra, Hoga, Adara, and Deir Yassin.

In a post on X, the Israeli foreign ministry posted a video of Thunberg’s arrest.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/oct/01/israel-gaza-aid-global-sumud-flotilla-middle-east-crisis-latest-updates?filterKeyEvents=false#filter-toggle-desktop

Botragelad:
Like I’ve been saying all along, that flotilla is nothing but a pointless publicity stunt. LOL. They’ve already been stopped and possibly sent back to their countries. Honestly, they should be glad if they do not end up in an Israeli prison with Hamas terrorists.

And isn’t it funny how the pro-Hamas crowd is silent about Spain and Italy’s Navy escort? The escort ended up turning back and even quietly apologized to Israel just to make sure the flotilla passengers weren’t harmed. Reality behind closed doors looks a whole lot different than the show they put on in public. Haha

"On Wednesday, Italy and Greece even urged Israel not to harm the activists and asked the flotilla to give its “aid” to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza, a request the flotilla had already refused."

If this really was about helping Palestinians, they could have easily handed the supplies over to Israel for delivery. But instead, they’re trying to sail into an active war zone just to score cheap propaganda points online. LOL. Goodbye, terrorists.
Am Yisrael Chai.,🇮🇱

Karlman:
You were warned
But you wanted to be politically correct, same foolishness that has turned britain to Islamic country.

You fools will learn the hard way.
Israel don't play to the gallery.

Botragelad:
Cry about it. The flotilla propaganda is dead on arrival.

Botragelad:
Source;
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-flotilla-says-unlit-vessels-approached-its-boats-prompting-security-2025-10-01/