Some of the 20 ships hoisting the Palestinian flag dock in the port in Barcelona, Spain, on Sept. 1, 2025. The Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces on Thursday near the Greek island of Crete. File Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA
April 30 (UPI) — Israeli forces intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla on international waters near Greece on Thursday, blocking it from delivering aid to Gaza.
The Israeli military, using drones and armed forces, blocked the fleet of ships in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Greek island Crete. Twenty-two of 58 vessels were captured, with passengers held at gunpoint.
“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 in a statement.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it has detained about 175 activists from the flotilla and is bringing them to Israel.
The flotilla was sailing from Barcelona, Spain, to Gaza when its ships were intercepted. Crete is more than 700 miles from Gaza.
The Global Sumud Flotilla social media page posted that Israeli forces smashed engines and destroyed navigation arrays on its ships before retreating.
“Intentionally leaving hundreds of civilians stranded on powerless, broken vessels directly in the path of a massive approaching storm,” the social media post reads. “Furthermore, communications with multiple vessels have been jammed, severing their ability to coordinate or signal for help.
Israel has maintained a maritime blockade of Gaza since 2009. It has said the blockade is meant to block weapons smuggling to Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the aid flotilla a “PR stunt.”
“As international media have exposed, these are professional provocateurs on pleasure cruises, addicted to self-promotion,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on social media.
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