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Israeli authorities have stated that its naval forces managed to halt a humanitarian flotilla attempting to enter the Gaza Strip shoreline.

However, it has been reported that one boat, identified as the ship Mikeno, managed to evade the naval blockade and anchored within Gaza's coastal waters before contact with the ship was lost.

This represents the initial instance since the imposition of a sea blockade on Gaza's waters in 2009 that an unauthorised aid effort has come closer than 70 nautical miles of the territory.

Israeli Response

The Israel's foreign ministry confirmed that a remaining vessel of the provocation remains in the distance.”

“If it approaches,” they continued, “its attempt to access an war zone and break the blockade will also be prevented.”

Interception Events

Vessels from the Global Sumud flotilla, which included over forty civilian boats carrying about 500 lawmakers, attorneys, and campaigners, were boarded on Wednesday evening by Israeli forces approximately 75 miles off the coast of Gaza.

Video footage from the ministry depicted activists seated on a deck surrounded by military personnel on the main ship, the Alma.

Via a recorded statement posted on social media just prior to the boarding, one participant stated: “We are about to be intercepted by Israel.”

Activists were detained and transported to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The ministry announced it would deport all individuals on the flotilla.

Onboard Reports

The mission shared several videos on Telegram with messages from individuals on board the ships, some displaying their identification and claiming they had been abducted and moved to Israel against their will, reiterating that their purpose was a peaceful aid effort.

Vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt on Wednesday afternoon when the interceptions started and had entered what has been called a “high risk zone.”

While still in international waters, it is an area where the Israeli navy has stopped other vessels trying to break its blockade in the previous years and which the flotilla had been warned not to cross.

Boarding Sequence

Around 7:25 pm, roughly 20 Israeli naval ships came near the flotilla and instructed them to turn off their engines, activists reported on online platforms.

Real-time video from the ships displayed activists sitting in a semi-circle, in life vests as they awaited boarding. The broadcast cut off soon after.

“The ships are being stopped unlawfully,” a post on the mission’s social media page read on Wednesday night. “Recording devices are not working and boats have been boarded by military personnel. We are trying to confirm the safety and status of all participants onboard.”

Footage broadcast by news channels depicted activists on the ship being hit by powerful jets of water. Those aboard reported they also experienced loud bangs near several of the vessels, thought to be distraction devices deployed from drones.

Global Reactions

Those arrested include nine Irish citizens, including a senator, at least two lawmakers, and a European politician.

Demonstrations occurred across Italy in response to the raid. Protests were also reported in several cities such as Brussels, Athens, Buenos Aires, and Berlin, while the government of Spain urged Israel to ensure the security and rights of those involved.

The Spanish labour minister labeled the attack on the aid mission as “an unlawful act against global law” and called for that Israel free those it had arrested.

Posting on social media, they added: “Europe needs to end ties with Israel right now.”

The ministry issued a statement late on Wednesday night, pointing out that the flotilla was a “non-violent and aid civil society initiative” and demanding the “physical integrity and legal protections” of the nationals on board to be respected.

The message concluded: “Spain will keep calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza, the massive entry of assistance, the release of all captives, and the implementation of the two-state framework: Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and safety.”

The UK authorities were “very concerned” about Israel’s stopping of an international aid flotilla headed to Gaza, the Foreign Office stated on the next day, noting that it had made clear to Israel that the matter should be resolved safely.

“There is great concern about the situation with the aid convoy, we are in contact with the relatives of a number of British nationals participating,” the British Foreign Office commented in a release. “The humanitarian supplies on the flotilla should be handed to aid groups on the ground to be transported safely into Gaza.”

The Turkish ministry said the Israeli “interception” on the flotilla was “a terrorist act” that risked the lives of innocent civilians.

Background on the Naval Siege

The naval blockade was established in 2009 by Israel, an escalation of its earlier restrictions of Gaza in response to the group seizing control of the territory. It has been condemned on numerous occasions by the UN, which has called it “a violation of global rights and aid law”.

An expert on international law at a university in Jerusalem, commented that as long as Israel’s blockade of Gaza was “militarily justified” – meant to keep out arms – and a vessel intended to break the blockade, Israel could stop the vessel after prior warning.

Whether the blockade is legally sound, and its legality, are disputed issues.

The flotilla argues it is a civilian, non-violent group and that the delivery of assistance is protected in global law. Earlier efforts by campaigners to break the sea blockade on Gaza were stopped by military action by the Israeli military.

In 2010, 10 individuals were killed by military personnel who raided a vessel as it was part of an humanitarian mission heading to Gaza.