In a new incident adding to the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law, the Israeli occupation navy launched an attack at dawn on Wednesday against the ships of the “Freedom Flotilla” as they sailed in international waters, approximately 120 nautical miles (220 kilometres) from the Gaza Strip. The vessels were heading toward the besieged enclave as part of a humanitarian initiative aimed at breaking the blockade and delivering aid to Gaza’s population.
According to the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza, the assault occurred at around 4:30 a.m., targeting three ships named Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa al-Najjar, and Anas al-Sharif. The Israeli occupation forces intercepted and unlawfully detained all those on board.
Video footage revealed an Israeli occupation naval officer attempting to destroy a documentation camera during the takeover of one of the vessels, in what appears to be a deliberate effort to conceal evidence of the use of force in international waters.
The Israeli occupation forces kidnapped all activists participating in the flotilla, who hail from over 22 countries, including doctors, lawyers, and volunteers, using warships and attack helicopters. The scene strongly recalls the bloody piracy incident against the Freedom Flotilla in 2010.
Subsequently, the Israeli Occupation Foreign Ministry announced that the passengers were being transferred to an Israeli port ahead of their forced deportation.
This attack constitutes a blatant violation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which prohibits any state from engaging in hostile actions or intercepting civilian vessels in international waters. The detention of civilian activists and volunteers also amounts to forcible abduction, a crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court according to the Rome Statute.
This assault comes amid a wider pattern of grave violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian civilians, as the genocide in Gaza continues unabated since 7 October 2023. The offensive has so far resulted in more than 67,000 deaths and nearly 170,000 injuries, most of them women and children, along with the comprehensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and the obstruction of humanitarian aid.
From a legal standpoint, the siege imposed on Gaza for over 17 years constitutes a form of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids punishing civilians for actions they did not commit. Blocking humanitarian aid is also considered a use of starvation as a weapon of war, a recognised crime against humanity.
What occurred this morning is not merely a maritime incident but a deliberate act of aggression aimed at criminalising humanitarian solidarity. It underscores the Israeli occupation’s continued treatment of international law as a selective tool, while the international community remains a silent observer.
