Israel carried out a similar attack on June 9 when the FFC’s Madleen approached Gaza in another attempt to break the siege.
Israel raided and abducted the crew of the Gaza-bound Handala ship late Saturday, marking the second such attack on a Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) vessel since June.
The Coalition confirmed in a statement that Israel “violently intercepted” the vessel and “abducted” its passengers in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza at 11:43pm local time.
“The unarmed boat was carrying life-saving supplies when it was boarded by Israeli forces, its passengers abducted, and its cargo seized. The interception occurred in international waters outside Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, in violation of international maritime law,” it said.
The boat carried 21 activists from 12 countries attempting to break Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip. The Handala’s crew included Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed El Bakkali from Morocco and Iraqi-American Waad Al Musa.
Online footage from the boat’s cameras showed the unarmed crew sitting with their hands raised as armed Israeli forces attacked the vessel. The Israeli military also confiscated the ship’s equipment, which included vital aid supplies like baby formula for Palestinians.
The fate of the ship’s crew remains unknown as calls for their release grow louder. The activists have also vowed to go on a hunger strike if detained by Israeli forces.
“Call your governments now and hold them to account. Demand an end their complicity in Israel’s war crimes and genocide and an immediate release of all ‘Handala’ crew members,” the FFC said.
In the early hours of Sunday, Israel’s foreign ministry issued a statement claiming it stopped the vessel “from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza”, even as the ship was in international waters.
“The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe. Unauthorised attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts,” the statement said.
Israel carried out a similar attack on June 9 when the FFC’s Madleen approached Gaza in another attempt to break the siege.
The boat carried 12 campaigners and journalists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Al Jazeera Mubasher’s journalist, Omar Fayyad. Israeli forces tortured the activists before forcing them to sign deportation papers for their release.
Fayyad was held alongside Thunberg for an entire day where he witnessed occupation forces inflicting psychological torture on her.
“Whenever she wanted to sleep or lean her head against the wall, an [Israeli] officer would come and yell ‘Greta, do not sleep this is prohibited’,” he told Al Jazeera upon his release last month.
Israel has completely blocked aid from entering the Gaza Strip since March 2, causing 2.1 million Palestinians to suffer from starvation.
Harrowing footage and images of emaciated babies and adults have emerged from the Gaza Strip over the past month, highlighting the urgent humanitarian crisis amid an absence of international action to hold Israel accountable.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Saturday that at least 127 people have died due to malnutrition since the beginning of the genocidal war on October 7, 2023. Israel has also killed more than 61,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to a revised figure by the local health ministry.
