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Israel deported four Italian activists on Friday, the first among the hundreds detained from an aid flotilla headed for Gaza, coinciding with the interception of the final boat, which concluded its mission.
Last month, the Global Sumud Flotilla departed Barcelona, carrying politicians and activists, including renowned Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, towards Gaza, where the United Nations reports that famine is beginning to take hold.
The Israeli navy started to intercept the boats on Wednesday, and an Israeli official stated the next day that vessels carrying over 400 individuals had been stopped from reaching the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry announced the deportation of four Italian activists who were part of the flotilla, adding that “the others are currently being deported.”
Authorities previously mentioned that none of the ships had violated their maritime blockade of the area.
“Marinette, the last remaining boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was intercepted at 10:29 am (0729 GMT) local time, approximately 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza,” the flotilla organisers said on Telegram.
They added that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels — each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”.
More than 20 journalists were among those detained from the flotilla, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which included reporters from Spain’s El País, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, and Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.
“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their work is a serious violation of the right to inform and be informed,” said Martin Roux, head of RSF’s crisis desk.
The last boat’s interception occurred while a general strike was underway across Italy, in support of which caused disruptions to trains and port operations.
Protests across the globe erupted on Thursday, including in Barcelona, the starting point of the flotilla’s journey, where around 15,000 people marched with chants like “Gaza, you are not alone,” “Boycott Israel,” and “Freedom for Palestine.”
Israel has labelled some of the activists, including Thunberg, as antisemitic, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the navy’s interception actions.
The nearly two-year conflict was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023. This attack led to the deaths of 1,219 individuals, primarily civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli data.
Since then, Israel’s retaliatory military operations have resulted in the deaths of 66,225 Palestinians in Gaza, predominantly civilians, as reported by figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations recognises as credible.
