Nine vessels of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC), carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, were intercepted by the Israeli Army on Wednesday, October 8.
The seized boats are: Gaza Sunbird, Alaa Al-Najar, Anas Al-Sharif, Leila Khaled, Milad, Soul of My Soul, Um Saad, Abd Elkarim Eid, and Conscience. They were intercepted while they were 140 nautical miles away from Gaza.
The flotilla, comprising around 93 journalists, doctors, activists and elected representatives, was carrying humanitarian supplies worth USD 110,000, including medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional supplies, to Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli foreign ministry asserted that the naval blockade is legal. “Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing. The vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port. All the passengers are safe and in good health. The passengers are expected to be deported promptly,” read its official X post.
Israel has repeatedly blocked several international aid flotillas from reaching Gaza.
Last week, Israeli naval forces stopped the Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels and detained politicians and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The move drew mass protests across Europe. Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined pro-Palestinian mass demonstrations across the world, calling for an immediate end to the war and the release of the detainees.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,160 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible. The data, however, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that over half of the dead are women and children.
(This copy has been updated.)
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Veena Nair | 
