The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), made up of over 50 small vessels from 44 countries and launched from Barcelona in early September to open a humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip, was intercepted by Israel on Wednesday afternoon.
However, 23 boats have not yet been intercepted and are still heading toward Gaza, according to Noelia Fernández, spokesperson for the organisation, speaking on Spain’s TVE. Fernández also said that one vessel had managed to reach Palestinian territorial waters.
According to TVE’s report, the crew of the Shireen vessel had altered their route in an effort to maintain communications and avoid interception, hoping to reach the Gazan coast.
On Wednesday, Israel boarded 13 boats and detained around 90 people, including an undetermined number of Spaniards. Among those detained are activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.
Thunberg’s vessel was among those boarded on Wednesday evening. Israel had warned the flotilla against entering waters that it says fall under its blockade. Israel’s foreign ministry posted video of the 22-year-old Swede retrieving her belongings.
On Thursday morning the ministry posted a further message on X (see below), which said: ‘The Hamas-Sumud passengers on their yachts are making their way safely and peacefully to Israel, where their deportation procedures to Europe will begin. The passengers are safe and in good health.’
The detainees were transferred to the port of Ashdod, in southern Israel, to begin deportation proceedings, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
According to the GSF, Israel ‘assaulted the vessels in international waters’, ramming one and using water cannons before soldiers boarded and seized control.
In videos posted on social media by the flotilla, armed Israeli commandos were seen approaching the campaigners’ ships in small boats and using water cannons against them, before commandeering the vessels and detaining those on board.
Livestream footage also showed activists, among them European politicians and lawyers, throwing their phones into the sea after soldiers boarded a ship. The intercepted vessels are the Alma, Adara, Sirius, Aurora, Dir Yassine, Grande Blu, Hio, Huga, Morgana, Otaria, Seulle, Spectre and Yulara.
The flotilla had earlier been warned to change course to the port of Ashdod, north of Gaza, Israel’s foreign ministry said. Israeli officials said any aid could be transferred ‘through safe channels’ to Gaza.
In late September, Spain and Italy said that they were sending a navy ship each to assist the aid flotilla to famine-stricken Gaza, whose objective was to break Israel’s longstanding blockade of the Strip and deliver crucial aid. ALSO READ: Spain joins Italy in sending a navy ship to protect Gaza flotilla after drone attacks.
Israel’s 18-year-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, long predates the current war in Gaza, which started in October 2023 following an attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep Hamas from importing arms, while critics call it collective punishment.
In addition to Spaniards, those detained on Wednesday include 22 Italians, 21 Turks, 12 Malaysians, 11 Tunisians, 11 Brazilians, and 10 French citizens. There are also detainees from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Colombia, among other countries. ALSO READ: Felipe VI on Israel’s ‘abhorrent acts’ in Gaza: ‘We demand this massacre be stopped now’.
The raid on the flotilla has sparked protests in Spain, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, and political reactions worldwide. In Italy, a general strike has been called for Friday. Colombia has ordered Israeli diplomatic staff to leave the country. The Spanish government has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires, confirmed by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. ALSO READ: Fierce winds force Gaza aid flotilla back to Barcelona port.
Since the aid flotilla set sail from Spain at the start of September, activists had reported several attacks on the convoy, including on several boats in Greek waters and in Tunisian waters.The flotilla had been targeted by drones that dropped explosives, damaging boats, as well as grenades containing irritant gas, according to reports. ALSO READ: Spain imposes permanent weapons ban on Israel, among 8 other measures ‘to stop genocide’ in Gaza.
The last interception of a ship carrying Thunberg ended peacefully earlier this year after the Israeli navy boarded 20 nautical miles offshore, claiming to enforce a blockade aimed at preventing the smuggling of weapons. In a previous interception in 2010, ten Turkish activists were killed, which prompted a six-year diplomatic rift between Turkey and Israel.
Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023 after Hamas launched an unprecedented cross-border attack that killed 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to official figures.
Since then, Israeli strikes have left at least 66,000 Palestinians dead – again, mostly civilians – based on numbers from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN has deemed credible.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
The moment Israel Occupying Forces boarded and seized #GlobalSumudFlotilla boat, The Oxygono, in international waters. Condition of the crew is currently unknown. pic.twitter.com/4zwggDC4lK
— Global Sumud Flotilla ✨ (@GSMFlotilla) October 2, 2025
Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.
Greta and her friends are safe and healthy. pic.twitter.com/PA1ezier9s— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
Hamas-Sumud passengers on their yachts are making their way safely and peacefully to Israel, where their deportation procedures to Europe will begin. The passengers are safe and in good health. pic.twitter.com/pzzitP5jN8
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 2, 2025
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
