Activists: Israel stops Gaza flotilla boats
According to activists involved, the Israeli Navy has begun stopping the pro-Palestinian Gaza flotilla in international waters. Soldiers boarded the first vessels this evening, the activists wrote on Instagram.
An activist reported in a video on X that he was on one of more than 40 private boats about 70 to 80 nautical miles from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Navy had ordered the crews to turn off their engines and wait for further instructions. He spoke of ten to twelve Israeli vessels.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry reported on X that the Israeli Navy had ordered the flotilla to change course. They could disembark their aid supplies at ports outside the Gaza Strip and would be transported further to the Palestinian coastal area. The crews had been informed that they were approaching an active combat zone.
“The flotilla rejected (the offer) because it is not interested in providing assistance, but in provocation,” the Foreign Ministry statement continued. Live images from cameras on board some of the boats showed activists in life jackets apparently waiting for Israeli marines to board their boats.
The group of motorboats and sailboats set off from Barcelona at the end of August. The activists say they want to bring aid supplies to the people of the Gaza Strip, which has been sealed off by Israel and Egypt for years, and protest against Israel’s military actions in the coastal strip.
