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Greta Thunberg held as Israel intercepts Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla

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02nd October, 2025 09:37 IST

Israeli naval forces have intercepted and detained activists, among them climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, as part of a large-scale operation against the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international mission attempting to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s maritime blockade.

The flotilla organisers reported that 13 vessels had already been intercepted, with some 30 others still attempting to continue their journey towards the besieged coastal territory. The group said the arrests would not halt its mission.

“The illegal Israeli interceptions won’t deter us. We continue on our mission to break the siege and open a humanitarian corridor,” the organisation declared in a statement.

Hundreds of activists from around the world are taking part in the operation, sailing aboard more than 40 boats carrying humanitarian supplies. According to flotilla spokesperson Saif Abukeshek, 201 people from 37 countries were on board the intercepted vessels, including groups from Spain, Italy, Turkiye and Malaysia.

Despite Israeli water cannon fire, electronic jamming and arrests in international waters, Abukeshek insisted that dozens of vessels remained on course. “They are determined, they are motivated, and they are doing everything within their hand to be able to break this siege by early morning and to arrive together,” he said in a video update.

The flotilla had earlier received support from UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who urged Israel to allow the boats safe passage.

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Among those detained was French MEP Emma Fourreau, who called for global action in response to Israel’s actions. “Block the country [Israel], paralyse the global economy. Let’s finish the flotilla’s mission: end the blockade, end the genocide in Gaza,” she was quoted as saying via the flotilla’s social media account.

Craig Murray, a former head of the maritime section at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, sharply criticised Israel’s interception of the flotilla. Writing on X, he stressed that the boats had been sailing in international waters and not within Israel’s territorial sea.

“An attack by a state military warship on a vessel on the High Seas is an attack on the flag state of the vessel attacked,” Murray said, adding that the seizure of ships and crews constituted not only a breach of international law but also offences prosecutable within domestic jurisdictions. He urged the UK’s Metropolitan Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate the abduction of individuals from UK-flagged vessels.

The Global Sumud Flotilla’s mission comes amid heightened scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where the blockade has left the population dependent on sporadic aid deliveries amid reports of widespread hunger and destruction.

With agency inputs

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