Israel has begun intercepting the boats of the new Global Sumud Flotilla mission en route to Gaza, which left from the Turkish coast of Marmaris on May 14th. The previous mission, in mid-April, ended with the interception and arrest of activists on the Greek island of Crete. Between the night of 17 and 18 May, via social channels, Flotilla activists began reporting the interception off the coast of Cyprus and in the morning the IDF operation began to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza.
“Israel will not allow any violation of the legitimate naval blockade on Gaza,” reads the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s X account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry reiterated on social media that “Israel will not allow any violation of the legitimate naval blockade on Gaza”, defining the Flotilla as “once again, a provocation as an end in itself: another so-called ‘humanitarian aid flotilla’ devoid of any humanitarian aid”. This time, the minister concluded, “two violent Turkish groups – Mavi Marmara and Ihh, the latter designated as a terrorist organization – take part in the provocation”.
The Flotilla, underlining that the activists were 250 miles from Gaza in international waters, said it had lost contact with the Sadabad vessel, “which had been seized by the Israeli occupation forces”.