Last flotilla boat stopped 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the organisation behind the boats that have been attempting to break Israel’s illegal naval blockade of a starving Gaza, said that the Marinette, the last vessel that was sailing towards the Palestinian enclave, was intercepted at 10:29am (7:29 GMT).
In livestream footage from the boat seen before the camera was shut, Israeli commandos could be seen approaching the Marinette on their boat, and then boarding the aid vessel.
The flotilla’s organisers said the Marinette was 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza at the time — which means it was in international waters.
Captured from the live stream, 8:29 AM local time
But even as all 42 boats in the flotilla have now been captured by Israeli military forces, organisers of the aid campaign said they will not stop efforts to break the blockade of Gaza.
“This is not the end of our mission. Our determination to confront Israel’s atrocities and stand with the Palestinian people remains unshaken,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a post on Instagram. “As people rise up in cities worldwide to demand an end to these horrors and to take a stand for humanity, we rise together with one voice:
We will not stop until the genocide ends.
We will not stop until Palestine is free.”
Further flotilla continues to Gaza
Another flotilla is sailing towards the Gaza Strip in an attempt to challenge Israel’s maritime blockade, activists say.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says the Conscience boat left Italy on Wednesday carrying about 100 activists, many of them healthcare workers and journalists.
It joins eight other vessels that departed nearly a week earlier.
The nine ships are currently off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, according to live tracking data.
