Zionist troops hijack Sumud Flotilla, abduct ships to Ashdod port

Reporting on Wednesday, the flotilla's organizers initially said Zionist regime’s patrol boats had surrounded the fleet and intercepted at least two vessels near Gaza.

The flotilla said its boats were less than 90 nautical miles from Gaza, when the incident happened.

‘Multiple vessels intercepted’; flotilla decries ‘war crime’

In a follow-up statement, the fleet said, “Multiple vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla—notably Alma, Surius, Adara—were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters."

Other vessels, including Yulara and Meteque, “have been targeted with water cannons,” it reported.

“These illegal attacks on unarmed humanitarian ships are a war crime.”

The organizers also noted that “prior to illegally boarding the ships, it appears as though the Israeli naval vessels intentionally damaged ship communications, in an attempt to block distress signals and stop the live-stream of their illegal boat boarding.”

Live-stream coverage and communication, they regretted, has been lost with multiple other boats.

“We are diligently working to account for all participants and crew.”

This happened after the Israeli navy issued repeated orders for the flotilla to divert to the port of Ashdod in the Israeli-occupied territories.

The flotilla said it would try its utmost to relay information about the status of the boats, detentions, injuries, and potential casualties.

The organizers called on governments, world leaders, and international institutions to demand the safety and release of all on board and continue to monitor the situation closely.

‘We’ll continue undeterred’

Later, the flotilla affirmed that it was 70 nautical miles away from the Palestinian territory, insisting that notwithstanding the interceptions and sabotage, its vessels “will continue undeterred.”

“Thirty boats still sailing strong on their way to Gaza, just 46 nautical miles away, despite the incessant aggressions from the Israeli occupation navy."

The GSF comprises more than 50 boats, which embarked from Barcelona late last month on a mission to break, what has been denounced by human rights bodies as, one of the world’s strictest and most inhumane blockades.

The flotilla has been described as the largest maritime mission of its kind in decades, carrying delegations from at least 44 countries.

On their way to Gaza, participants had reported multiple instances of “dangerous” escalation by the regime, including explosions, heavy drone swarms, and communications jamming.”

They had described the incidents as a harbinger of stronger aggression against the fleet’s 500-plus civilian volunteers.

Also on Wednesday, the activists said the attacks targeting the vessels reflected “the lengths to which the occupier will go to keep Gaza starved.”

The flotilla is the latest in a series of maritime efforts by international activists to challenge the Israeli regime’s near-total blockade of the coastal sliver.

Similar attempts in past years have often ended with Israeli interception at sea, sparking widespread condemnations.

‘A dark time in humanity’

Speaking in a video made amid the situation, one of the participants described the situation at hand as “some dark times in humanity” as governments worldwide “are failing us as people.”

He highlighted the ongoing “attack on innocent Palestinians, who have been slaughtered for the last two years,” stressing that such oppression could not be tolerated.

The activist was referring to the Israeli regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on Gaza that has so far claimed the lives of more than 66,100 Palestinians mostly women and children, hundreds of whom have succumbed to death due to the starvation that was being enforced through the blockade.

The activist said the flotilla represented working-class solidarity from scores of countries, cautioning that “if Israel attacks one of these vessels, that is not only an attack on the vessel, but that’s an attack on every single person that’s in solidarity with this movement.”

The participant advised reinforcement of popular action targeting the regime and its supporters, including through shutting down of the corporations that were complicit in the genocide and taking protest action against Israeli embassies and the diplomatic missions of the states that contributed to the bloodletting.

In protest at targeting of the fleet, Italy’s Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) trade union announced a nationwide general strike for October 3.

It recalled its earlier pledge to halt work if the convoy were targeted, denouncing the Israeli regime for breaking international law.