Jerusalem: Israeli naval forces boarded most of the vessels in a flotilla attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza on Thursday and detained dozens aboard, including European lawmakers.
The Global Sumud Flotilla was the largest yet to try to break the blockade, and it comes at a time of growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where its offensive has laid waste to wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people. Activists said they hoped that the sheer number of boats would make it more difficult for Israeli authorities to intercept them all, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry declared the operation over on Thursday afternoon.
Supporters of the flotilla took to the streets in several major cities late Wednesday, after news of the interception broke — including in Rome, Istanbul, Athens, Greece, and Buenos Aires, Argentina — to decry the Israeli operation and the ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip. More protests were expected Thursday, and Italy’s largest union called for a one-day general strike on Friday.
The flotilla, which started out with over 40 boats and nearly 450 activists, was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Its main goal, they said, remained “to break Israel’s illegal siege and end ongoing genocide against Palestinian people.”