Some of the ships hoisting the Palestinian flag dock in the port in Barcelona, Spain, on September 1. The flotilla said the Israeli military attempted to intimidate the boats by aggressively circling them Wednesday. File Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA
The Israeli military “aggressively circled” a flotilla of boats attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, including one vessel carrying activist Greta Thunberg, Global Sumud Flotilla said Wednesday.
The organization — a civilian-led fleet of boats seeking to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip — said the “intimidatory operation” took place early Wednesday. The flotilla carried about 500 activists from more than 40 countries, none of whom was injured in the incident.
“One of our lead vessels, Alma, was aggressively circled by an Israeli warship for several minutes,” a statement from Global Sumud Flotilla said.
The organization said during the incident the flotilla’s on-board communications were remotely disabled. They also accused the Israeli military of steering “dangerously close” to one of the vessels, “forcing the captain to take a sharp, evasive maneuvers” to prevent maneuver.
Lisi Proenca, an activist who was on a second boat also allegedly harassed by the Israeli military, said the military boats came “really close” to hitting the flotilla. Speaking during a news conference, she said the Israeli boats left the flotilla alone after about 15 minutes, according to The Independent.
“These reckless and intimidatory maneuvers placed participants at serious risk,” the organization said. “The Global Sumud Flotilla is a peaceful, nonviolent mission carrying humanitarian aid and civilians from over 40 countries.”
The Italian navy accompanied the flotilla on its route to Gaza, but officials said the naval frigate stopped about 150 nautical miles away from Gaza. Israel said it would not allow any humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s shores, according to the BBC.
The Global Sumud Fund said it would continue its mission to Gaza.
“The humanitarian demand to break the blockade cannot be walked back to port,” the group said.
The flotilla was attacked last week by drones off the coast of Greece last week.
