Israeli Navy intercepts Gaza flotilla hundreds of miles from Strip

Israeli forces overnight Wednesday took control of vessels participating in the Hamas-linked Gaza protest flotilla, the Foreign Ministry confirmed following reports from organizers that naval forces had intercepted them near Greece.

“Approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats of the condom flotilla are now making their way peacefully to Israel,” the ministry tweeted on Thursday morning.

The Foreign Ministry shared video footage it said showed activists enjoying themselves aboard an Israeli Navy vessel.

Activists of the Global Sumud (“Steadfastness”) Flotilla claimed just before midnight on Wednesday, they 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.”

According to a tracking map on the flotilla’s website, the vessels were stopped near the Greek island of Crete, hundreds of nautical miles from Israel.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that “another provocative flotilla was stopped before reaching our area,” calling them “a group of delusional attention-seeking agitators.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday condemned the seizure. Rome “demands the release of all illegally detained Italians, full respect for international law and guarantees of the physical well-being of the people on board,” her office said in a statement. Italy’s government “reaffirms its commitment to continue providing humanitarian aid to Gaza in the framework of our cooperation and in respect of international law,” the statement added.

Italy under Meloni, who was elected on a conservative platform, has grown increasingly critical of Israel after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state and triggered a regional war. France, which has maintained a more hostile attitude to Israel than Italy’s after the invasion, did not immediately comment on the seizure.

The activists aboard flotillas to Gaza tend to belong to the hardcore of anti-Israeli agitation in Europe, and previous flotillas have been shown to be linked to Hamas.

In a video clip published by the flotilla organizers, an Israeli Navy officer could be heard calling on the activists to abandon their journey.

“If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, you may do so through established and recognized channels. Please change course and return to the port of origin. If you are carrying humanitarian aid, you are invited to proceed to the Port of Ashdod,” the officer states.

“It is dangerous to remain on your current course. If you continue the attempt to breach the maritime blockade, we will stop your vessel and act to seize it through legal proceedings in court,” he adds. “You bear full responsibility for your actions.”

An IDF spokesman told JNS on Thursday morning that the IDF enforces the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip and was prepared for any scenario, in accordance with orders from the political echelon.

On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry had stated that “the driving force behind the flotilla provocation is Hamas — joining hands with professional provocateurs — with the aim of sabotaging Trump’s peace plan.

“Like previous provocations, this is nothing but a PR stunt: a provocation without humanitarian aid,” it continued. “As international media have exposed, these are professional provocateurs on pleasure cruises, addicted to self-promotion.”

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night published footage of items found aboard the ships, which organizers claimed carried aid supplies for the Gaza Strip. “This is the ‘medical aid’ found aboard the PR stunt flotilla: condoms and drugs,” the ministry tweeted.

Caroline Glick, international affairs adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called the discovery aboard the intercepted boats “repulsive and evil.”

The interception of the vessel came hours after Defense Minister Israel Katz imposed sanctions on a crowdfunding campaign organized by the Hamas terrorist organization to raise money for the flotilla.

The sanctions were part of a broader Israeli effort, which includes U.S. involvement, to counter attempts by Hamas and others to destabilize the Gaza Strip, according to the ministry.

“The flotilla violates U.N. [Security Council] Resolution 2803, which stipulates that aid to the Gaza Strip will enter through the accepted official channels, and therefore undermines the Trump administration’s settlement efforts as part of its efforts to achieve regional stability,” the statement added.

The declared objective of the Global Sumud Flotilla is to “to break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide.”

Jerusalem maintains that its naval blockade on the enclave, imposed on Jan. 3, 2009, is compatible with international law. It aims to prevent weapons, terrorists and funds from entering or exiting Gaza by sea. The enclave has been ruled by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists since 2007.

Several missions led by the Global Sumud Flotilla were intercepted by the Israeli Navy last year, with participants detained and deported, including Swedish far-left activist Greta Thunberg.