Israeli navy intercepts vessels aiming to break blockade

Israeli naval forces boarded most of the vessels in a flotilla attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza on Thursday and detained dozens aboard, including European lawmakers, drawing widespread condemnation.

- By IpRAHIM HAzZBOUN AND RENATA BRITO

ACTIVISTS aboard a Global Sumud Flotilla vessel raise their hands to prove they are unarmed as Israeli naval forces stop boats sailing toward the Gaza Strip.

(Global Sumud Flotilla)

The Global Sumud Flotilla was the largest yet to try to break the blockade, and it comes at a time of growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where its offensive has laid waste to wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people.

Activists had said they hoped that the sheer number of boats would make it more difficult for Israeli authorities to intercept them all, but Israel's Foreign Ministry declared the operation over on Thursday afternoon.

Supporters of the flotilla took to the streets in several major cities after news of the interception broke — including in Rome, Istanbul, Athens and Buenos Aires — to decry the Israeli operation and the ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In the northern Italian city of Bologna, dozens of protesters and university students scuffled with police outside the city’s central train station.

Police in riot gear used batons to push back the protesters who were trying to occupy the train station and chanting “Free Palestine” and “Shame on you.” Italy’s largest union called for a one-day general strike on Friday.

The flotilla, which started out with more than 40 boats and nearly 450 activists, was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Its main goal, they said, remained “to break Israel’s illegal siege and end the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed it as a “provocation,” saying that various countries have offered to deliver the aid the boats were carrying. Israel has come under intense criticism for how much aid it lets into Gaza and how it distributes the goods. It has vehemently denied it is committing genocide.