Gaza, MINA – The Israeli occupation Navy attacked ships belonging to the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC)’s Thousand Madleens to Gaza mission early Wednesday while sailing in international waters, approximately 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) from the Gaza coast.
According to the coalition’s tracker, Israeli forces targeted all nine ships participating in the mission.
“The Israeli occupation commits a war crime again in international waters. We will not stop… The genocide must be stopped and the siege broken,” the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza said on X.
A press release from the Thousand Madleens to Gaza campaign stated that within one hour, all nine boats, Abd Elkarim Eid, Alaa Al-Najar, Anas Al-Sharif, Gaza Sunbird, Leïla Khaled, Milad, Soul of My Soul, Um Saad, and Conscience were attacked by the Israeli army in international waters.
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Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the vessels and activists were transferred to an Israeli port and are “expected to be deported promptly.”
“We confirm that three vessels, Gaza Sunbird, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military at 04:34 a.m., 220 km off the coast of Gaza,” the coalition said earlier.
A livestream on the coalition’s YouTube channel showed Israeli soldiers raiding the Gaza Sunbird. The FFC emphasized that the Israeli military “has no legal jurisdiction over international waters” and that the flotilla “posed no harm.”
The flotilla carried over $110,000 worth of humanitarian supplies, including medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional aid for hospitals in Gaza.
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Established in 2010, the FFC has organized numerous missions to deliver aid and raise global awareness about the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The Thousand Madleens convoy followed last week’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, during which Israeli naval forces seized over 40 boats and detained more than 450 international activists. Most of them have since been deported.
Israel has maintained 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 deliveries of food and medicine, pushing the enclave to the brink of famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, rendering Gaza nearly uninhabitable. Indirect negotiations to end the war under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire and reconstruction plan are ongoing in Egypt.[]
Also Read: Spain to Take Israel to ICC Over Global Sumud Flotilla ‘Hijacking’
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