{"id":21091,"date":"2026-05-01T13:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=21091"},"modified":"2026-05-01T13:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:06:06","slug":"gaza-aid-flotilla-vessels-taken-to-crete-after-israeli-interception-us-israel-war-on-iran-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=21091","title":{"rendered":"Gaza aid flotilla vessels taken to Crete after Israeli interception | US-Israel war on Iran News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Israel\u2019s military reportedly seized 22 vessels sailing among the Global Sumud Flotilla.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 1 May 2026<\/span>1 May 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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More than \u200c160 activists on board aid ships forming a flotilla bound for Gaza have been taken to the Greek \u2060island of Crete \u2060after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece earlier this week, Freedom Flotilla organisers have said.<\/p>\n

The organisers told the Reuters news agency on Friday that 168 members of the flotilla crew had been taken to Crete while two activists remained with Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

According to the group\u2019s tracker, 22 boats have been intercepted so far by Israel, while 47 others are still sailing.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Israeli military forces intercepted the boats travelling with the Global Sumud Flotilla from Barcelona in Spain, using drones, communications jamming technology, and armed raiding parties to halt the humanitarian fleet in the middle of the Mediterranean as it headed to Gaza, according to organisers and Israeli media.<\/p>\n

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the activists on the intercepted boats would be taken to Greece.<\/p>\n

On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to Crete, where buses and an ambulance car waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.<\/p>\n

A source who asked not to be identified also told Reuters that the remaining 47 boats at sea were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza.<\/p>\n

Each ship is carrying about a tonne of food, medical supplies and other equipment, the source added.<\/p>\n

\"flotilla\"
Security camera footage shows crew members of the flotilla that sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona, carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, raise their arms as the vessel is said to be intercepted by the Israeli army off the coast of Greece, April 30, 2026 [Handout\/Global Sumud Flotilla via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018A straight-up attack\u2019<\/h2>\n

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described Israel\u2019s boarding of its vessels as \u201ca straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is illegal under international law. Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. Boarding these boats amounts to illegal detention, potentially kidnapping on the high seas,\u201d Tsabar added.<\/p>\n

Officials around the globe have condemned the interception of the boats bound for Gaza as a violation of international law, with Turkiye calling it an \u201cact of piracy\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,\u201d Turkiye\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Spain called the interception \u201cillegal\u201d, while Germany and Italy expressed \u201cgreat concern\u201d and called for the release of detainees.<\/p>\n

But in a statement on Thursday, the US Department of State threatened \u201cto impose consequences\u201d against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as \u201cpro-Hamas\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the United States wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for Hamas fighters.<\/p>\n

Last October, Israel\u2019s military intercepted about 40 boats from the first Global Sumud Flotilla as they tried to carry aid to besieged Gaza, arresting more than 450 participants, including the grandson of South African leader Nelson Mandela, Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan.<\/p>\n

Detained and taken to Israel, several of the flotilla activists claimed they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse while in Israeli custody.<\/p>\n

Israel later expelled the arrested crew members and activists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Israel\u2019s military reportedly seized 22 vessels sailing among the Global Sumud Flotilla. Published On 1 May 20261 May 2026 More than \u200c160 activists on board aid ships forming a flotilla bound for Gaza have been taken to the Greek \u2060island of Crete \u2060after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece earlier this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}