Just cruel.....

Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid flotilla carrying Greta Thunberg and MEPs

The flotilla set sail in August and has pro-Palestine activists from around the world on board.

By Elena Giordano, Hannah Roberts and Sasha Schroeder

Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as it approached Palestinian territory, stopping more than 20 of its boats since Wednesday evening and triggering a wave of street protests in Italy.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed early Thursday that several vessels had been stopped and their passengers were being transferred to an Israeli port.

“Hamas-Sumud passengers on their yachts are making their way safely and peacefully to Israel, where their deportation procedures to Europe will begin. The passengers are safe and in good health,” the ministry said, posting a photo that included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg among the crew members. 

The interception started on Wednesday evening as the boats started approaching Palestinian territory.

“Here you can see the interception to one of our boats,” said French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, who was on board one of the vessels, in a video posted on social media.

In a livestream video on the flotilla’s official channel, crew members on different boats were shown wearing life jackets and sitting in a circle while waiting to be intercepted.

Early on Thursday, Hassans’ team said in a statement that the Israeli military had intercepted the Captain Nikos ship and had arrested those on board, including Hassan.

Flotilla organizers posted a video clip they said showed Israeli forces capturing another vessel, the Oxygono, in international waters and boarding the ship. “Livestreams and communication are down, and the status of those on board is unknown,” they said in the post.

The organizers said 23 ships were still sailing to Gaza.

News of the Israeli enforcement of the blockade immediately triggered demonstrations by pro-Palestine groups in major cities, stations and ports around Europe, particularly in Italy where the flotilla has become a political headache for Giorgia Meloni’s government.

In Rome, activists gathered outside Termini station, while at Naples central station the tracks were blocked by protesters for an hour.

The main trade unions have called a general strike for Friday, Oct. 3. The USB union accused the Israelis of “piracy” in a statement saying: “We are blocking everything. A fleet composed of workers, volunteers, representatives of movements and civil society, sailing with a cargo of basic necessities, has been struck by an act of war against peace, against humanity, against international law.”

Mezzocannone Occupato, one of the pro-Palestine groups, wrote on Facebook: “We said we would block everything, and we are doing so. Free Palestine, hands off the Global Sumud Flotilla.”

There were also protests in Brussels, where a large crowd gathered in Place de la Bourse, and at Berlin central station, according to videos posted on social media.

The flotilla, made up of more than 50 boats, set sail in August and has pro-Palestine activists from around the world on board, including Thunberg and MEPs.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video to social media that appeared to show Thunberg being given water while being apprehended. It said that several vessels of what it called the “Hamas-Sumud flotilla” had been safely stopped.

Speaking to state media Rai TV after the flotilla was intercepted, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the Italians involved in the flotilla “will probably be taken to the port of Ashdod but then deported. I believe there will be a flight that will take them to Europe together with the others.”

The Israeli boarding had been “expected,” he said, adding that the important thing is “that there are no acts of violence.”

Meloni warned on Tuesday that the flotilla’s actions could jeopardize the U.S. president’s peace plan for Gaza.

“With the Middle East peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, there is finally hope for an agreement to end the war and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population and stabilize the region,” Meloni wrote on social platform X.

Among those on board the flotilla are Italian MEPs Benedetta Scuderi (Greens) and Annalisa Corrado (S&D), and French MEPs Mélissa Camara (Greens), Emma Fourreau (The Left) and Hassan (The Left).

Speaking to POLITICO earlier on Wednesday, Hassan’s team said that while she was glad to take part in the mission, her team feared the potential consequences. “We fear violence,” they said. “She is an MEP, which should offer some reassurance — but because she is Palestinian, we worry something could happen to her. Last time, she was placed in solitary confinement.”

Early on Thursday, a spokesperson for The Left told POLITICO that the group had lost connection with their MEPs on the mission and that they were worried.

“We have no update on their safety or their whereabouts,” the spokesperson said. “We are very concerned for their well-being and that of their comrades on board,” he added.