Sirens blared in several cities in Jordan as Iranian missiles were intercepted. Jordanian Armed Forces confirmed at least eight missiles were intercepted.
Published On 9 Jul 20269 Jul 2026
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Israel’s military reportedly seized 22 vessels sailing among the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Published On 1 May 20261 May 2026
More than 160 activists on board aid ships forming a flotilla bound for Gaza have been taken to the Greek island of Crete after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece earlier this week, Freedom Flotilla organisers have said.
The organisers told the Reuters news agency on Friday that 168 members of the flotilla crew had been taken to Crete while two activists remained with Israeli authorities.
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According to the group’s tracker, 22 boats have been intercepted so far by Israel, while 47 others are still sailing.
On Wednesday, Israeli military forces intercepted the boats travelling with the Global Sumud Flotilla from Barcelona in Spain, using drones, communications jamming technology, and armed raiding parties to halt the humanitarian fleet in the middle of the Mediterranean as it headed to Gaza, according to organisers and Israeli media.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the activists on the intercepted boats would be taken to Greece.
On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to Crete, where buses and an ambulance car waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.
A source who asked not to be identified also told Reuters that the remaining 47 boats at sea were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza.
Each ship is carrying about a tonne of food, medical supplies and other equipment, the source added.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described Israel’s boarding of its vessels as “a straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters”.
“This is illegal under international law. Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. Boarding these boats amounts to illegal detention, potentially kidnapping on the high seas,” Tsabar added.
Officials around the globe have condemned the interception of the boats bound for Gaza as a violation of international law, with Turkiye calling it an “act of piracy”.
“By targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,” Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Spain called the interception “illegal”, while Germany and Italy expressed “great concern” and called for the release of detainees.
But in a statement on Thursday, the US Department of State threatened “to impose consequences” against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as “pro-Hamas”.
Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the United States wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for Hamas fighters.
Last October, Israel’s military intercepted about 40 boats from the first Global Sumud Flotilla as they tried to carry aid to besieged Gaza, arresting more than 450 participants, including the grandson of South African leader Nelson Mandela, Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan.
Detained and taken to Israel, several of the flotilla activists claimed they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse while in Israeli custody.
Israel later expelled the arrested crew members and activists.
World leaders condemn the interception of the boats bound for Gaza as violating international law.
Published On 30 Apr 202630 Apr 2026
Israel has intercepted 22 out of the 58 aid ships travelling through international waters and bound for the besieged Gaza Strip.
The ships make up part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla to try in recent months to break an Israeli blockade by carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. They sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.
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The vessels were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, hundreds of miles from Gaza, the flotilla’s organisers said on Thursday.
Israel “kidnapped” 211 of the 400 activists taking part in the flotilla, including a Paris city councillor, according to the flotilla’s organisers. Israel’s Foreign Ministry had earlier put the number of those detained at 175.
Here’s how world leaders have reacted to the news:
Italy called for the immediate release of Italian nationals on board the flotilla.
Italy “condemns the seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels… and calls on Israel to immediately release all the unlawfully detained Italians”, the government said in a statement.
Italy’s ANSA news agency cited sources among the organisers saying 24 Italians had been detained.
In its statement, the government also called for the “full respect of international law and guarantees on the physical safety of the people on board”.
It said it was “committed to continue supplying humanitarian aid to Gaza in the framework of our cooperation and in respect of international law”.
In a joint statement with Italy, Germany said it was following developments regarding the flotilla with “great concern” and called for international law to be respected and for “restraint from irresponsible actions.”
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it “energetically condemns” Israel’s seizure of the flotilla, which is carrying Spanish nationals.
Madrid has summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires to convey its protest over the detention of the vessels, the ministry added in a statement.
Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s seizure of the boats in the flotilla as “an act of piracy.”
“By targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.
In a post on Telegram, the Palestinian group Hamas condemned the interception, accusing Israel of committing a crime without accountability and calling for the release of those detained.
The flotilla’s organisers condemned Israel’s seizure of its vessels.
“This is piracy,” they said in a statement. “This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences.”
“No state has the right to claim, police, or occupy international waters, but Israel has done that, extending its control outward to occupy the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Europe,” the statement said.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the flotilla organisers “professional provocateurs” and said that its forces acted lawfully.
“Due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law,” the ministry said in a statement.