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Israel continues to defy international law and humanitarian conventions, launching a new attack on the Freedom Flotilla en route to Gaza—a move observers have described as a clear continuation of the occupation’s policy of collective punishment and its efforts to block humanitarian aid from reaching over two million civilians under siege in the Gaza Strip.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces launched an armed assault on the Freedom Flotilla while it was sailing in international waters, approximately 220 kilometers off the coast of Gaza. The attack included the interception and seizure of several vessels and the arrest of dozens of international activists, in blatant violation of international law and maritime conventions.
Details of the Attack
In a statement, the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza reported that the Israeli navy attacked the flotilla at exactly 4:34 a.m. It confirmed that at least three ships—Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif—were directly targeted and subjected to armed assaults.
The committee stated that occupation forces boarded the ships by force, assaulted activists, and deliberately disabled communication equipment and documentation cameras by shooting at them.
It added that the ship Al-Dhamir, which was carrying 93 journalists, doctors, and international activists, came under attack from an Israeli military helicopter.
The Freedom Flotilla, made up of ten ships, had departed from the Italian island of Sicily on September 25, carrying dozens of activists from around the world—including parliamentarians, doctors, and media professionals—in yet another attempt to break the maritime blockade that has been imposed on Gaza for more than 18 years.
The ships were carrying humanitarian aid worth over $110,000, including medicine, ventilators, and medical and food supplies destined for Gaza’s hospitals, which are suffering catastrophic conditions due to the blockade and continuous bombardment.
International Reactions
The attack sparked a wave of international condemnation. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described the operation as a “blatant act of aggression and a serious provocation that violates international law and freedom of navigation,” calling for the “immediate release of all Malaysian activists and guarantees for their safety.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also announced that he is closely following the case of ten Italian nationals detained by the occupation, urging respect for their legal and human rights.
This assault comes just a week after Israeli forces intercepted the Global Resilience Flotilla, which included 42 ships. During that operation, hundreds of international activists were arrested, with some reporting being subjected to “torture and mistreatment” before most were released.
Reactions from Palestinian Factions
Palestinian resistance factions condemned the attack, describing it as a new act of piracy that exposes “the true face of the Zionist entity.”
Hamas stated that the “kidnapping of Freedom Flotilla activists is a crime and a new act of piracy added to the occupation’s black record,” holding Israel fully responsible for the lives and safety of the abductees and calling on the United Nations and international community to take immediate action for their release.
Islamic Jihad described the assault as “a new violation of all international and humanitarian norms,” asserting that “Zionist piracy against the Freedom Flotilla reflects the moral degradation of the occupation,” and blamed European silence for the continuation of such crimes.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement said that the barbaric attack on the Freedom Flotilla is a natural result of international silence and Western complicity, stressing that endangering the lives of the solidarity activists reveals the aggressiveness of the Israeli entity and its hostility toward all human values.
The Aggression Extends Beyond the Sea—to the Human Conscience
Despite repeated Israeli crackdowns and interceptions of humanitarian vessels, the International Committee to Break the Siege affirmed that such crimes will not deter activists from continuing their missions. The committee emphasized that the Freedom Flotilla represents a message of human conscience in the face of the killing machine and genocide perpetrated by Israel against Gaza’s population.
The committee’s statement concluded that the latest attack reflects a systematic policy aimed at silencing any human voice that exposes the genocide being committed by the Israeli entity in Gaza—at a time when global public anger against the occupation and its allies is steadily rising.
