Organizers of a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had boarded one of their ships and that contact with another vessel in the eastern Mediterranean had been lost, Reuters reports.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on the IX network that it "will not allow any violation of the lawful naval blockade of Gaza."
Ships of the Global Sumud flotilla set sail for the third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after previous attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Live footage showed military ships approaching the vessels on Monday.
"Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and Israeli forces are boarding the first of our ships in broad daylight," the Global Sumud flotilla said on the X network.
"We demand safe passage for our lawful, non-violent humanitarian mission."
Israel also called on "all participants in this provocation to immediately change course and return," the statement said.
The previous flotilla set sail from Spain on April 12. However, Israeli forces intercepted the ships in that group, transferred more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists to Crete and detained two more in Israel.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
