Gaza, MINA – A total of 223 international activists on board a Gaza-bound aid convoy were detained by Israeli forces, organizers announced on Thursday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said via the US social media platform X that 15 boats had been attacked by Israeli forces since late Wednesday, while another eight were believed to have come under attack or were currently being targeted.
On Instagram, the flotilla shared the names and nationalities of the 223 activists aboard the attacked vessels.
Meanwhile, the official flotilla tracker confirmed that 20 vessels had been intercepted by Israeli forces, while 24 others continued their course toward Gaza.
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According to Erdem Ozveren, a Turkish activist participating in the global mission, their vessel was less than 30 nautical miles away from Gaza.
The convoy, carrying mainly humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August. It marked the first time in years that more than 50 ships had sailed together toward Gaza, carrying over 500 civilian supporters from more than 45 countries.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years. The siege was further tightened in March when Israel closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave to the brink of famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and human rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is becoming uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly. []
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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Tags: Israel, Gaza, Global Sumud Flotilla, international activists, Erdem Ozveren, Gaza blockade, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, 2.4 million population, famine, United Nations, human rights, Israeli attacks, civilian casualties
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