JERUSALEM: Israel on Friday deported four Italian activists, the first of hundreds detained from an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, shortly after the interception of a final boat brought an end to its mission.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, where the United Nations says famine is taking hold.
The Israeli navy began intercepting the boats on Wednesday, and an Israeli official said the following day that boats with over 400 people on board had been prevented from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Friday that it deported four Italian activists who were on board the flotilla, adding that “the rest are in the process of being deported”.
Israeli police said “more than 470 flotilla participants were taken into custody by the military police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the prison administration”.
Authorities earlier said that none of the vessels had breached its maritime blockade of the territory.
“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”.
Among those detained from the flotilla were more than 20 journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), including reporters from Spain's El Pais, 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.
Worldwide protests
The interception of the final boat came as a general strike was held across Italy in solidarity, disrupting trains and port traffic.
Worldwide protests erupted Thursday, including in Barcelona, where the flotilla began its voyage, and where about 15,000 people marched chanting slogans including “Gaza, you are not alone”, “Boycott Israel” and “Freedom for Palestine”.
Israel has branded some of the activists, including Thunberg, as antisemitic, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the navy's interception efforts.
“I commend the soldiers and commanders of the navy who carried out their mission on Yom Kippur in the most professional and efficient manner,“ he said in a statement Thursday.
“Their important action prevented dozens of vessels from entering the war zone and repelled a campaign of delegitimisation against Israel.”
The nearly two-year war was sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign since then has killed 66,225 Palestinians in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable - AFP
