The Global Sumud Flotilla has said that Israeli military vessels were continuing to attack and board its humanitarian aid fleet in international waters as the convoy headed towards Gaza.
“Interception continues. IOF (Israeli occupational forces) military vessels are currently illegally boarding our fleet,” the flotilla said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We are on high alert as we continue towards Gaza. We refuse to be intimidated.”
Organisers also said 10 humanitarian boats had “escaped 22 hours of Israeli attacks in international waters” and were sailing toward Gaza.
“The boats are currently just 121 nautical miles from Gaza’s shores,” the statement read.
According to Israeli news website Walla, the army also detained around 300 activists, an unnamed security source told the publication.
Walla added that the Israeli navy had not yet intercepted all the flotilla vessels and that several boats remained at sea.
The Israeli army launched the attack on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid in international waters on Monday, prompting widespread international condemnation.
With the participation of over 50 boats, the flotilla sailed on Thursday from the Turkish district of Marmaris in a renewed attempt to break the illegal Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.
Organisers said the mission included 426 participants, among them 96 Turkish activists and participants from 39 other countries, including Germany, the US, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, France, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia, Oman and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is considering legal steps to secure the release of its citizens detained by Israeli forces after an attack on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud flotilla.
This is not the first such incident involving the flotilla.
In late April, the Israeli army attacked flotilla boats in international waters off the Greek island of Crete. At the time, the convoy included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.
Israeli forces then seized 21 boats carrying around 175 activists, while the remaining vessels continued towards Greek territorial waters.
Israeli forces later released the activists in international waters except for two, a Spanish and a Brazilian activist, who were taken to detention centres inside Israel before being deported later.
Around 2.4 million Palestinians, including approximately 1.5 million forcibly displaced people, are living under catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza, worsened by a two-year Israeli genocide that has killed more than 72,700 people and wounded over 172,700, most of them women and children, in addition to triggering severe starvation conditions.
Despite a ceasefire announced in October 2025, Israel has continued restricting humanitarian aid access and carrying out daily strikes, resulting in the deaths of 877 Palestinians and injuries to 2,602 others, according to local authorities.
