Israeli troops intercept Gaza flotilla off Cyprus

Israel’s navy intercepted an activist flotilla in the waters off Cyprus on Monday, halting the latest attempt to challenge a naval blockade of Gaza and draw attention to the grim living conditions for Palestinians in the war-battered coastal territory.

More than 50 vessels departed from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, last week in what the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza’s shores.

The activists’ livestream showed them putting on life jackets and raising their hands as a boat carrying Israeli troops approached. When the troops boarded, the livestream abruptly ended.

Other footage showed Israeli forces on speedboats approaching and instructing the activists to move to the front of the boat. At least 31 boats were intercepted in the first three hours of the operation, according to Global Sumud Flotilla’s tracker.

The interceptions took place well outside Cypriot territorial waters that stretch 22 kilometres from the island’s coastline, at a location some 167 kilometrers away, according to the national center responsible for search and rescue operations there.

The center said it had not received any distress calls from the area. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides also said that Israel did not inform Cypriot authorities of its intention to intercept the flotilla.

Organisers said the boats were intercepted 463 kilometres from the shores of Gaza. Unlike previous interceptions, which mostly took place under the cover of night, the Israeli military boarded the boats in broad daylight.

Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza since the Palestinian militant group Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment.

Israel has said the blockade, which restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza, was meant to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out of the enclave.

The flotilla organisers said they expect the activists to be taken to the port of Ashdod, in southern Israel. Activists on previous flotillas were brought to the same port, where some were processed and immediately deported, while others were detained before they were deported.

Hamas condemned Israel’s interception of the flotilla as a “full-fledged crime of piracy” and called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its blockade.

Turkey echoed Hamas’ piracy accusation and called on Israel to immediately halt its operation and release the flotilla participants.

“The proper name for this, as you know, is piracy,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters during a visit to Germany, adding that Turkey was working with international bodies and other governments to ensure the safe return of Turkish citizens on board the flotilla.

Italy said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has repeatedly asked the Israeli government for assurances regarding the safety and well-being of detained Italian activists aboard the flotilla.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry urged Israel to release all the detained activists and confirmed two of its nationals, including a journalist, were aboard the flotilla.

Israeli forces intercepted more than 20 boats from a flotilla near the southern Greek island of Crete on April 30, detaining about 175 activists initially. Israeli officials said they had to act early in international waters because of the high number of boats involved.

Israel took two of the activists - Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila - back to Israel, where they were interrogated and detained for several days.

The ceasefire in the latest Israel-Hamas war remains fragile and progress has stalled over the issue of disarming Hamas, with both sides trading accusations of violations.

Despite the ceasefire, around 2 million Gaza residents still live with severe shortages of housing, food and medicine.

Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the territory since the ceasefire went into effect last October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Associated Press