The Global Sumud aid flotilla on Monday demanded “safe passage” for its humanitarian mission to Gaza, accusing Israel of carrying out “illegal acts of piracy.”
In a statement, the flotilla said Israeli forces attacked the first of its boats “in broad daylight” in international waters while military vessels intercepted the fleet.
“We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission,” the statement said.
The flotilla also called on governments to intervene, accusing Israel of carrying out “illegal acts of piracy” aimed at maintaining a “genocidal siege” on Gaza.
“Normalisation of the occupation’s violence is a threat to us all,” the statement added.
The group said Israeli naval warships had encircled civilians aboard the flotilla around 250 nautical miles from Gaza in “another illegal high-seas interception in international waters.”
Live broadcasts from the flotilla earlier showed Israeli naval forces attacking the boats carrying activists from 39 countries one after another in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli army detained activists aboard the vessels and was transferring them to a navy ship described as a “floating prison” before transporting them to the port of Ashdod.
Meanwhile, the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement that military vessels were approaching the fleet.
“We are on high alert as we continue towards Gaza. We refuse to be intimidated,” the statement said.
The flotilla, consisting of 54 boats, set sail on Thursday from the Turkish Mediterranean district of Marmaris in a renewed attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since the summer of 2007.
