Israel intercepts aid flotilla but one ship reported to have escaped blockade

"Israel has said it has stopped a pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid from reaching Gaza, after its navy intercepted most of the vessels. However, one boat, the Mikeno, was reported to have escaped the maritime blockade and to have stopped inside Palestinian territorial waters near Gaza's coast before contact with the vessel was lost. It was the first time since Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza's waters in 2009 that an unauthorised humanitarian mission has reached closer than 70 nautical miles from the territory."

"Vessels from the Global Sumud flotilla, which consisted of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were boarded late on Wednesday by Israeli forces roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza. A video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed Thunberg sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers on the flotilla's lead vessel, the Alma."

"Thunberg and other activists were arrested and taken into custody at the Israeli port of Ashdod. The Israeli foreign ministry said it would deport all activists on the flotilla. The flotilla put out several videos on Telegram with messages from individuals on board the various boats, some holding their passports stating that they had been abducted and taken to Israel against their will, and reiterating that their mission was a non-violent humanitarian cause."

Israeli forces intercepted most vessels of a pro-Palestinian Global Sumud flotilla carrying aid, boarding more than 40 civilian boats roughly 75 miles off Gaza. One vessel, the Mikeno, reportedly breached the maritime blockade and stopped inside Palestinian territorial waters near Gaza before contact was lost. The incident marked the closest unauthorized humanitarian approach to Gaza's waters since the 2009 naval blockade. Activists, including Greta Thunberg, were detained and taken to Ashdod, and Israel said it would deport all participants. Some detainees posted videos claiming abduction and asserting a non-violent humanitarian mission. The flotilla sailed in international waters within a designated high-risk zone.

Read at www.theguardian.com