Israeli forces storm Gaza-bound aid flotilla off Cyprus

Israeli forces have begun intercepting vessels from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, organisers say, as video footage shows Israeli forces approaching and boarding several boats.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, an international movement heading the mission, said Israeli military personnel boarded several vessels in international waters off Cyprus on Monday as the convoy tried to sail to the besieged Gaza Strip.

“Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and IOF [Israeli] forces are currently boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight,” the Global Sumud Flotilla wrote on X.

“We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission. Governments must act now to stop these illegal acts of piracy meant to maintain Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza,” it continued.

Video footage shared by the organisers showed activists filming as Israeli forces approached and boarded the boats.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the account. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

More than 50 vessels departed from the Turkish port city of Marmaris last week in what organisers described as the final stage of a journey aimed at challenging Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

Reporting from Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said Israeli media described the operation as one of the largest naval interception campaigns targeting a Gaza-bound flotilla in recent years.

According to Abu Azzoum, Israeli naval forces intercepted about 20 vessels near Cyprus, far from Gaza itself, and about 100 activists have reportedly been detained.

He said Israeli media reported that activists were transferred to what was described as a “floating prison” before being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod for interrogation by Israeli intelligence authorities.

Abu Azzoum also cited Israeli media reports saying the military had used electronic interference tactics, including broadcasting songs over radio frequencies, to disrupt communications between flotilla vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.

The interceptions came as the Turkish branch of the flotilla campaign said one of its vessels, the Munki, had come under “attack” and “close harassment” by Israeli military boats.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that the Israeli military had detained activists on board the flotilla’s vessels, was transferring them to a navy ship and would later transport them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

“The flotilla’s vessel Munki has been attacked by the occupying Israeli forces. We have currently lost contact with the vessel,” Global Sumud Turkiye said in a statement posted on X earlier on Monday.

Bader al-Noaimi, coleader of the Global Sumud Flotilla legal team, said the vessels were in international waters when the interceptions began and accused Israel of targeting a “peaceful humanitarian flotilla”.

“Our flotilla was in international waters at the time of the start of this military aggression and operation against this peaceful humanitarian flotilla,” al-Noaimi said.

He added that the vessels were also within Cyprus’s search and rescue zone, which he said meant Cypriot authorities had a legal obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to respond to distress calls.

“We have been making distress calls since the start of the attack against the flotilla,” he said, adding that the calls began about 07:20 GMT.

Turkiye also denounced the Israeli operation. “We condemn the intervention by Israeli forces in international waters against the Global Flotilla, which constitutes a new act of piracy,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

About an hour before the reported interceptions, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had warned the flotilla to abandon its course.

“Change course and turn back immediately,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli public broadcaster Kan had earlier reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to authorise the military to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza and to capture vessels trying to breach the naval blockade.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since 2007, saying it is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas and other armed groups.

Rights groups and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly criticised the blockade, describing it as collective punishment imposed on Gaza’s population.