The Israeli authorities announced the interception of all ships of the Sumud flotilla heading for the coast of the Gaza Strip. A total of 430 pro-Palestinian activists were detained.
“Another PR flotilla has ceased to exist. All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli ships and are heading to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives“, said a statement published on the website of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
According to the Israeli side “this flotilla has once again turned out to be nothing more than a PR stunt in the interests of Hamas“. "Israel will continue to act in full compliance with international law and will not allow the lawful naval blockade of the Gaza Strip to be violated," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
The current operation by the "Global Flotilla Sumud" began in April, when its ships set sail from ports in Spain, Italy and France. They were later joined by ships leaving Turkey. The participants said their goal was to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and establish a permanent humanitarian sea corridor.
On May 18, the Israeli news channel Ynet reported that the Israel Defense Forces had begun intercepting the flotilla's ships hundreds of kilometers off the Israeli coast in international waters.
The plan was to transfer the activists aboard a special floating prison and then transport them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.