The Israeli military intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to provide aid to the Strip, detaining 21 international activists and journalists, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Sunday.
The Flotilla Coalition said the Israeli military “violently intercepted” the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication just before midnight Saturday.
“All cargo was non-military, civilian, and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel’s illegal blockade,’’ the group said in a statement.
According to the operators of the Handala vessel, the aid ship’s cargo, intercepted by the Israeli military, contained baby formula, food and medicine, and it sailed towards the port of Ashdod on Sunday, accompanied by an Israeli navy vessel.
The cargo was “intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation … under Israel’s illegal blockade,’’ it added.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted that the navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore.
The Handala is the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza.
Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when the Israeli military seized it in June. The Swedish climate activist, alongside others, was later deported.
French left-wing lawmakers among crew
This time around, the ship carried what the Freedom Flotilla Coalition called a “diverse crew of activists, scholars, workers, artists, members of parliament, elected officials, and journalists from 12 countries.”
Among them are Gabrielle Cathala, a French MP representing Val-de-Marne and Emma Fourreau, a French-Swedish MEP.
“They carry the dreams of millions of people across the world and bring with them a powerful message of international solidarity — that we will break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza,” the group said.
The latest interception comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, with concern growing over rising hunger deaths in the Strip.
Italian and Spanish governments react
Reacting to the development, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had spoken with Israeli Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday morning.
The Handala had two Italian activists aboard before it was intercepted. They were detained on the Freedom Flotilla ship and have arrived in the port of Ashdod, where they will be assisted by staff from the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from the Italian government.
With one of its citizens aboard the intercepted Handala vessel, Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it had tasked its cooperation agency, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, “to send everything needed to Gaza”.
The Spanish government said it planned to advocate for the recognition of Palestine and the 2-state solution at the UN General Assembly on Monday, describing what it called the “induced famine” in Gaza as “a disgrace”.
“Daily starvation deaths: 100,000 children and 40,000 babies are at risk of death. Israel must allow permanent, uninterrupted, and free passage of all necessary humanitarian aid”, the Spanish government said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a regional human rights group, Adalah, denounced Israel’s interception of the Handala, saying the raid on the vessel violated international law.
“Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority over the international waters in which the vessel was sailing,” the group’s statement said.
On Sunday, the Israeli military announced it had begun a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, after its announcement Saturday night that airdrops of aid would begin in Gaza, with humanitarian corridors opened for United Nations convoys.
