Gaza aid flotilla organisers say 41 boats intercepted, 10 still sailing

The organisers of an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip say Israeli forces raided 41 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, while 10 vessels continue to sail towards the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The vessels still sailing were about 121 nautical miles (224km) from Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla said on Tuesday morning.

More than 50 vessels sailed from the Turkish port city of Marmaris last week, in what organisers described as the final stage of a journey aimed at challenging Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Israeli forces began storming the boats in international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Monday, organisers said, and abducted activists.

Several countries have condemned the Israeli attacks on the aid flotilla. The foreign ministers of Turkiye, Spain, Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, Libya, and the Maldives released a joint statement, describing Israeli forces’ actions as “blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.

As per the statement, the ministers expressed “serious concern regarding the safety and security of the civilian participants of the flotilla” and called for the “immediate release of all detained activists, as well as for full respect for their rights and dignity”.

Reporting from the Palestinian enclave, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said Israeli media described the operation as one of the largest naval interception campaigns targeting a Gaza-bound flotilla in recent years.

Shortly before Israeli forces began intercepting boats on Monday, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs directed the flotilla to abandon its mission.

“Change course and turn back immediately,” the ministry said in a statement.

Margaret Connolly, an Irish doctor and President Catherine Connolly’s sister, was among those “illegally kidnapped” by Israel, organisers said in a statement sent to the AFP news agency.

President Connolly, on a planned trip to the United Kingdom, told reporters after talks in London with King Charles III that the news was “upsetting”.

“I’m very worried about her, and I’m also very concerned about her colleagues on board,” she said, adding she did not have any details.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since 2007, saying it is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Rights groups and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly criticised the blockade, describing it as collective punishment imposed on Gaza’s population.