Another fleet of Gaza-bound aid ships carrying journalists, activists and medical professionals has been intercepted by Israeli authorities, the organizers said on social media, days after Israel detained dozens of activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Ships from the Conscience Boat and Thousand Madleens to Gaza convoy, part of an organization called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, were intercepted Wednesday morning local time while approaching Gaza, the organizers said in a social media post.
The FFC said the Israeli military had intercepted all nine of the convoy’s ships as of just after 6 a.m. local time, roughly 120 nautical miles from Gaza.
“The Israeli military has no legal jurisdiction over international waters. Our flotilla poses no harm,” the group said in an Instagram post.
Eight of the passengers are US citizens, according to the FFC.
A live video stream from the “Gaza Sunbird,” one of the ships the FFC said was intercepted, appeared to show Israeli security forces boarding the vessel as its crew sat in the rear, and striking the camera providing the live stream. Moments later, the stream went offline.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the flotilla’s efforts “another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade,” an effort it said “ended in nothing.” The “vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port,” the MFA said, adding that they would be “deported promptly.”
Last week, the Israeli military intercepted dozens of boats sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla, a separate Gaza-bound convoy. The participants, which included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were detained by Israel and deported.
