Gaza-bound aid flotilla says several boats intercepted by Israel

Cairo: The organisers of a new Gaza-bound aid flotilla said the Israeli army intercepted at least three of its boats on Wednesday.

"Three vessels -- Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif -- have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military" early morning, 220 kilometres (around 140 miles) off the coast of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla said on X.

The organisers of a new Gaza-bound aid flotilla said the Israeli army intercepted at least three of its boats on Wednesday. 

"Three vessels -- Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif -- have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military" in the early morning, 220 kilometres (around 140 miles) off the coast of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla said on X.

It said another ship, the Conscience, carrying more than 90 journalists, doctors and activists, was also "under attack", while its crew on the Milad "are being illegally abducted by Israel".

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats entering waters it says fall under its blockade of the war-torn Palestinian territory.

"Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing. The vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port," it said on social media. 

"All the passengers are safe and in good health. The passengers are expected to be deported promptly," it added.

The pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the boats were carrying "vital aid worth over $110,000 USD in medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional supplies that were destined for Gaza's starving hospitals".

Israel has blocked several international aid flotillas in recent months from reaching Gaza, where the UN says famine has set in.

Last week Israeli naval forces stopped another Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels, carrying politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The move drew mass protests across Europe, while Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza, condemned the interception as a "crime of piracy and maritime terrorism".

Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined pro-Palestinian mass demonstrations in cities across the world last weekend, calling for an immediate end to the war and the release of activists on board that flotilla.

Palestinian militants' October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,160 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that over half of the dead are women and children.