Israel’s foreign ministry has announced it arrested around 175 activists aboard 20 ships headed to Gaza to deliver aid, after the Israeli navy intercepted the vessels in the central Mediterranean near the Greek island of Crete, more than 1,000 km from Gaza and well outside Israeli territorial waters.
Multiple boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla were violently boarded and illegally seized in international waters on 29–30 April, with Israeli forces boarding and seizing multiple vessels, redirecting them towards Israel’s ports, including Ashdod.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said in a post on X that hundreds of activists remain stranded on board damaged vessels following the interception, warning of a looming storm that could endanger those at sea.
“After smashing engines and destroying navigation arrays, the military retreated—intentionally leaving hundreds of civilians stranded on powerless, broken vessels directly in the path of a massive approaching storm. Furthermore, communications with multiple vessels have been jammed, severing their ability to coordinate or signal for help,” the statement read.
Under international maritime law, boarding or seizing foreign-flagged civilian vessels in international waters is prohibited.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump called on Tehran to “just give up” after Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to dismiss Washington’s economic pressure campaign.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian also blamed the US and Israel for the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the move was intended to keep out “hostile countries”.
