Israeli naval vessels intercept Gaza-related fleet

The Israeli navy has intercepted boats that wear help with Gaza and held the activists on board, including the Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that various ships that are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) were “safe” and that those on board were transferred to an Israeli port.

It added that the navy had told the ships to change course because they “approached an active battle zone”.

Early on Thursday morning local time, GSF said that 30 boats were still “sailing strongly to Gaza” and 46 nautical kilometers of their intended destination.

She described the interception as “illegal” and “no defense” but “a brutal act of despair”.

The group claimed that one ship in the fleet was “deliberately rammed at sea” and said that extra boats were hit by water cannons.

“It clearly reveals the extreme lengths on which the occupier will go to ensure that Gaza remains starving and isolated,” GSF wrote on social media.

“They will attack a peaceful civil mission because the success of humanitarian aid means the failure of their siege.”

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the fleet had been informed that it was “a legal navy blockade” that covers the waters next to Gaza – although it is unclear whether the boats had entered the blockade zone.

It posted images of the interception that Thunberg left on the deck of a boat, with water and a jacket from a member of the Israeli army.

Livestreams of the boats suggest that not all 44 ships have gone on board and evacuated.

The Israeli government, which has branded the GSF’s attempt to transport humanitarian aid to war -torn Gaza as “provocation”, said: “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”

The GSF said that several ships, including the Alma, one of the most important ships, as well as the Surius and the Adara, had been intercepted and went on board.

To this end, the Israeli army of “deliberately harmful ship communication accused, in an attempt to block emergency signals and to stop the live stream of their illegal bootboarding”.

It said that the fleet had been 70 nautical miles of Gaza’s coastline when the intervention had taken place. The group had hoped that his ships would arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning.

People have gathered Greece, Italy, Germany, Tunisia and Turkey to protest against the interception of Israel over the fleet.

Italian trade unions also mentioned a general strike on Friday in “Defense of the Flotilla, constitutional values ​​and for Gaza”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey condemned the interception as an “act of terrorism” and called for the “perpetrators of this attack” to be held responsible.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has expelled all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country and denounced the interception as an “international crime by Netanyahu”.

Petro also ended the free trade agreement of Colombia with Israel, which has been in force since 2020, and called for the release of two Colombians on board to the fleet.

The Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris called the reports concerning “and said that he expected that Israel will maintain international law, with at least seven Irish citizens among the prisoners, including Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews.

Israel has already blocked two attempts by activists to provide help to the ship to Gaza in June and July.

Although the Israeli government has characterized the fleet as a “selfie yacht”, Thunberg pushed back against that criticism and told the BBC on Sunday: “I don’t think anyone would risk their lives for a publicity stunt.”

International aid organizations have tried to get food and medicines to the Palestinian territory, but notice that Israel limits the flow of stocks.

Israel claims that it is trying to prevent those supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas. The and the US have supported an alternative food distribution system, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) with which the UN refuses to collaborate, and describes its attitude as unethical.

A group supported by the UN confirmed last month that there was famine in Gaza and the UN humanitarian chief said that it was the direct result of the “systematic obstruction” of Israel of help that came in the territory.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called this a “outright lie”.

The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a statement that France had ensured that every possible entry operation would take place under the best possible security conditions “.

The Italian Foreign Minister said that he was reassured by Israel that his forces would not use violence against the 500 people on board, including French and Italian politicians.

Antonio Tajani said: “The boarding was planned, we’re talking about it … with [Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon] Saar so that there would be no violent actions of the armed forces of Tel Aviv, and this is assured me. “

Simon Harris, Tánaiste van Ireland (Deputy Prime Minister), said that his country “expects international law to be maintained and that everyone on board the fleet will be treated in strict agreement”.

In Gaza, Israël steps on his attack on Gaza City While Hamas weighs his reaction to a new American plan to end the war. Arab and Turkish mediators are supposed to print Hamas for a positive response, but a senior Hamas figure has said that the armed group will probably reject it.

The Israeli Minister of Israel, Israel Katz, gave the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the city a final warning to evacuate south and said that those who remained against Hamas would be “terrorists and supporters of fear” during the offensive.

The international committee of the Red Cross stated that “according to international humanitarian law citizens should be protected, whether they remain or leave Gaza City”.