Israeli Navy intercepts 4 ships, arrests 70 members of Global Sumud Flotilla
GAZA, Oct. 01 (YPA) – The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza announced late on Wednesday evening that the Israeli Navy had intercepted four ships belonging to the “Global Sumud Flotilla” heading toward the shores of the Gaza Strip, beginning the boarding and halting operation earlier in the evening.
In posts on its Facebook page, the Committee clarified that the interception resulted in the detention of approximately 70 people who were aboard the vessels. These ships were carrying humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, in an attempt to break the Israeli-imposed blockade on the Strip.
The Committee noted that 40 other ships in the flotilla are still sailing determinedly towards Gaza, adding that they have 165 kilometers left until they reach their destination.
The Committee reassured followers of the flotilla’s journey—which includes over 50 ships carrying 532 civilian solidarity activists from more than 45 countries—stating: “Your loved ones are well-trained and know how to maintain their safety.”
The Committee also urged the public, especially in Europe, to highlight the flotilla and pressure embassies and governments to stop supporting the “Israeli genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
The movement of the Sumud Flotilla, which includes the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Global Gaza Movement, the Sumud Convoy, and the Malaysian organization “Sumud Nusantara,” comes amid the Israeli occupation army’s tightening of the siege on the Gaza Strip since March 2nd. This severe restriction has led to the United Nations and its organizations officially declaring a famine in the Gaza Governorate on August 22 due to the prevention of food and medicine aid from entering.
With American and European support, the Israeli occupation army has continued to commit crimes of genocide, siege, and starvation in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the killing of 66,097 Palestinian civilians, mostly children and women, and injuring another 168,536 to date, in an unfinalized toll, as thousands of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, unreachable by ambulance and rescue teams.
YPA