Israeli military forces intercepted a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in international waters near Crete, according to organizers and Israeli media.
“Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as ‘Israel’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons, ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees,” the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission said on Thursday.
INTERCEPTION HAPPENING NOW pic.twitter.com/lwXVnysDV7
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) April 30, 2026
“Israeli military boats have illegally surrounded the flotilla in international waters and threatened kidnapping and violence,” the flotilla said in a post on social media.
“Communication with 11 vessels have been lost and Israeli media claims that 7 boats have been intercepted. Governments must act now to protect the flotilla.”
Israel: A group of delusional attention-seeking agitators”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said in a post on social media that the flotilla was “stopped before reaching our area” and that Israeli soldiers were acting with “determination dealing with a group of delusional attention-seeking agitators”.
Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described Israel’s boarding of its vessels as “a straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters”.
More than 50 vessels carrying activists from multiple countries set sail from Italy on Sunday towards the Gaza Strip in what organizers said was the largest humanitarian aid flotilla attempting to reach the war-torn Palestinian territory, where Israel’s war has killed 72,599 people and injured 172,411.
Related: Why Has the World Stopped Looking at Gaza?
