{"id":125150,"date":"2026-05-01T20:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=125150"},"modified":"2026-05-01T20:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:22:35","slug":"over-100-gaza-aid-flotilla-activists-taken-to-crete-after-israeli-interception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125150\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 100 Gaza aid flotilla activists taken to Crete after Israeli interception"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Web Desk(National Times)- More than 100 activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces\u00a0seized<\/a>\u00a0their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla, launched in recent months<\/a> in an attempt to break Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to shore, where buses and an ambulance waited for them, organisers said and Reuters<\/em> footage showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad is also part of the Global Sumud Flotilla mission, though it is not immediately clear if he was among those taken into Israeli custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before communications were jammed, he posted videos to social media platform X saying, \u201cFlotilla under attack, Israeli terrorist army has captured 11 of our boats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s foreign ministry called the flotilla organisers \u201cprofessional provocateurs\u201d and \u201cIsrael will not allow the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Two activists held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two activists were detained by Israeli authorities, according to statements from Israel and the organisers of the flotilla, who identified them as Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain\u2019s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, accused Israel of illegally arresting Abu Keshek and demanded his immediate release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation and Avila was suspected of illegal activity, adding that both would be taken to Israel for questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a post on their Telegram channel, organisers of the flotilla alleged that activists had been denied adequate food and water and \u201cforced to sleep on floors that were deliberately and repeatedly flooded\u201d aboard an Israeli naval vessel, describing their treatment as \u201c40 hours of calculated cruelty\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said some suffered injuries, including broken noses and cracked ribs, when they were kicked and dragged across the deck with their hands tied after they tried to protest against the detention of their two fellow activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the allegations of mistreatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s and Italy\u2019s foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying they were following developments with \u201cdeep concern\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A source who asked not to be identified said that while 22 boats had been intercepted by Israel, 47 others were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza. Each ship is carrying about a ton of food, medical and other equipment, the source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 22 vessels were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece\u2019s Peloponnese peninsula, which is hundreds of miles from Gaza, the flotilla\u2019s organisers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement on Thursday, the US State Department threatened \u201cto impose consequences\u201d against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as pro-Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the US wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights as support for Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last October, Israel\u2019s military halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg<\/a> and more than 450 participants. That followed other seaborne attempts to reach blockaded Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of Gaza\u2019s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>International condemnation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan and 10 other countries have condemned the \u201cIsraeli assault\u201d on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which they said was as a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing the attention of the international community to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Brazil, Jordan, Spain, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Maldives, South Africa and Libya said the Israeli attacks against the vessels and the unlawful detention of humanitarian activists in international waters constituted \u201cflagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madrid blasted the seizure and said it had summoned Israel\u2019s charge d\u2019affaires in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Israel of \u201conce again violating international law by attacking a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it\u201d, urging the EU to freeze bilateral ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flotilla organiser, meanwhile, termed the Israeli action \u201cpiracy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences,\u201d the said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Web Desk(National Times)- More than 100 activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces\u00a0seized\u00a0their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said. The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israel\u2019s blockade of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nOver 100 Gaza aid flotilla activists taken to Crete after Israeli interception - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125150\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over 100 Gaza aid flotilla activists taken to Crete after Israeli interception - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web Desk(National Times)- More than 100 activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces\u00a0seized\u00a0their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said. 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