Israeli military boards aid boats bound for Gaza

TRYING TO BREAK THE BLOCKADE

The flotilla is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war.

The flotilla had hoped to arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning if it was not intercepted. This was the second time the flotilla was approached on Wednesday. Before dawn, the mission’s organisers said two Israeli “warships” had encircled two of the flotilla’s boats and scrambled its communications. 

Last week the flotilla was attacked by drones, which dropped stun grenades and itching powder on the vessels, causing damage but no injuries. Israel did not comment on that attack, but has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal enclave. 

Italy and Spain deployed naval ships to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs, but stopped following the flotilla once it got within 150 nautical miles of Gaza for safety reasons. Turkish drones have also followed the boats.

Italy and Greece on Wednesday, jointly called on Israel not to hurt the activists aboard and called on the flotilla to hand over its aid to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza – a plea the flotilla has previously rejected.

Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. “This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative,” Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on X.