Israeli naval forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and are detaining activists at an Israeli port before transferring them to prison, rights groups and flotilla organisers said. The organisers said the mission was a renewed attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Israeli authorities said all 430 activists on the flotilla’s vessels were transferred to Israeli ships and would be allowed to meet consular representatives after arriving in Israel. Organisers said participants came from about 40 countries and sailed on roughly 50 vessels, which departed from southern Turkey on a third attempt to reach Gaza.
Video circulating after the interception showed Israeli forces firing at least warning shots toward some flotilla boats. Israel described the shots as warnings and reiterated on social media that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
The Israeli rights group Adalah said activists had been detained at Ashdod port and were being taken into Israel against their will, while its attorneys entered to provide legal consultations. Flotilla organisers said detainees were expected to be moved to Ketziot prison in the Negev, and that Adalah lawyers would not be able to meet them until they arrived there.
Italy’s foreign ministry said Italian nationals on the flotilla — including a member of parliament and a journalist — were expected to be transferred to a facility for identification before being allowed to depart. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said South Korean citizens were among those detained and condemned the arrests as excessive, questioning the legal basis for seizing and detaining third-country vessels.
Past flotillas intercepted by Israel resulted in the detention and subsequent deportation of participants. Organisers maintain their goal is to deliver badly needed aid to Gaza, which international agencies say still faces shortages despite a US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas in October 2025 that included promises of increased humanitarian access.
Humanitarian groups note that more than two million people in Gaza have been displaced, many living in damaged or makeshift shelters following prolonged conflict. Israel, which controls land, sea and air access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies. Since the ceasefire it has maintained control over more than 60% of Gaza, with Hamas holding a small coastal area.
