Organisers say last Gaza flotilla boat intercepted by Israel

The organisers of a Gaza-bound assistance flotilla said Israel intercepted its past remaining vessel connected Friday, aft the interceptions of its chap vessels drew protests worldwide.

The Global Sumud Flotilla acceptable sail past month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, wherever the United Nations says famine is taking hold.

The Israeli navy began intercepting the boats connected Wednesday, and an Israeli authoritative said the pursuing time that boats with implicit 400 radical connected committee had been prevented from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s overseas ministry said Friday that it deported 4 Italian activists who were connected committee the flotilla, adding that “the remainder are successful the process of being deported”.

Israeli constabulary said “more than 470 flotilla participants were taken into custody by the subject police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the situation administration”.

Authorities earlier said that nary of the vessels had breached its maritime blockade of the territory.

“Marinette, the past remaining vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was intercepted astatine 10:29 americium (0729 GMT) section time, astir 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza,” the flotilla organisers said connected Telegram.

They added that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted each 42 of our vessels — each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to interruption Israel’s amerciable siege connected Gaza”.

Among those detained from the flotilla were much than 20 journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), including reporters from Spain’s El Pais, Qatar’s Al Jazeera and Italy’s nationalist broadcaster RAI.

“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their enactment is simply a superior usurpation of the close to pass and beryllium informed,” said Martin Roux, caput of RSF’s situation desk.

– Worldwide protests –

The interception of the last vessel came arsenic a wide onslaught was held crossed Italy successful solidarity, disrupting trains and larboard traffic.

Worldwide protests erupted Thursday, including successful Barcelona, wherever the flotilla began its voyage, and wherever astir 15,000 radical marched chanting slogans including “Gaza, you are not alone”, “Boycott Israel” and “Freedom for Palestine”.

Israel has branded immoderate of the activists, including Thunberg, arsenic antisemitic, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the navy’s interception efforts.

“I commend the soldiers and commanders of the navy who carried retired their ngo connected Yom Kippur successful the astir nonrecreational and businesslike manner,” helium said successful a connection Thursday.

“Their important enactment prevented dozens of vessels from entering the warfare portion and repelled a run of delegitimisation against Israel.”

The astir two-year warfare was sparked by Palestinian militant radical Hamas’s unprecedented onslaught connected Israel connected October 7, 2023.

The onslaught resulted successful the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based connected authoritative Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory subject run since past has killed 66,225 Palestinians successful Gaza, besides mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run wellness ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.

The station Organisers accidental past Gaza flotilla vessel intercepted by Israel appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.