posted<\/a> on X \u200bthat it \u201cwill not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn a video posted on Edhi\u2019s official Facebook handle, Faisal said that at around 1pm today, \u201cthe Gaza Aid Flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces near Cyprus and its members have been arrested, including Saad Edhi\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action following his son\u2019s detention by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were arrested in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to do so. Israel has arrested them illegally and their whereabouts are unknown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that Saad, a Pakistani citizen, was part of the Gaza Sumud Flotilla and was going to help war-affected people in Gaza. He added that around 500 members from different countries were also part of it. \u201cThey were bringing food and medicines for the people of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow they have been arrested, we don\u2019t know anything about their whereabouts,\u201d he said, adding that their mobile phones had also been snatched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI appeal to Pakistan\u2019s foreign ministry to take action, as a Pakistani citizen has been arrested by Israeli forces,\u201d Faisal said in the video message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also appealed to the ministry to confer with the United Nations and the international community against this \u201cillegal and inhuman conduct by Israeli forces\u201d and to stop the \u201cgenocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier today, his son also issued a video statement from the Gaza Sumud Flotilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am Saad Edhi, a Pakistani citizen. If you are watching this video, it means that I have been intercepted or am being intercepted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He described it as a \u201cnon-violent humanitarian aid mission\u201d for Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are bringing aid to Gaza peacefully. There has been a genocide in Gaza for the past eight decades. That\u2019s why we want to end this illegal blockade and siege,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further said: \u201cWe are going to Gaza, and if we are arrested by Israeli Occupation Forces or the Israeli Defence Forces, it is the responsibility of the Pakistani government to coordinate and make efforts to ensure my release.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ships from the \u200bGlobal Sumud Flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from \u2060southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Live \u200bvideo showed military vessels approaching the vessels on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMilitary vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and (Israeli) forces are \u200bboarding the first of our boats in broad daylight,\u201d the Global Sumud Flotilla initially said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group said there were two dozen Turks among those on the intercepted \u200bvessels, some 250 nautical miles (463 km) from Gaza. It said there were 426 people taking part in the flotilla from \u200c39 \u2060countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s foreign ministry also called on \u201call participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The previous flotilla departed from Spain on April 12. But Israeli forces intercepted vessels in that group, taking more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists to Crete and detaining two others in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last October, Israel\u2019s military halted another flotilla assembled by \u200bthe same organisation, arresting Swedish \u200bactivist Greta Thunberg \u2060and more than 450 participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Palestinians and international aid bodies, along with Turkey and a number of other countries, say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite \u200ba ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of \u200bGaza\u2019s more than \u20602 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 \u2060withholding supplies \u200bfor its residents. Its foreign ministry said more than 1.58 \u200bmillion tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web desk(National Times)- Saad Edhi, son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi, was reportedly detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with other members of the Global Sumud Flotilla after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, the social worker and the flotilla said. The organisers of the flotilla said Israeli forces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - 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\/126136\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- Saad Edhi, son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi, was reportedly detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with other members of the Global Sumud Flotilla after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, the social worker and the flotilla said. The organisers of the flotilla said Israeli forces […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T14:53:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T14:53:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/\",\"name\":\"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T14:53:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-18T14:53:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - Nation","og_description":"Web desk(National Times)- Saad Edhi, son of prominent social worker Faisal Edhi, was reportedly detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with other members of the Global Sumud Flotilla after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, the social worker and the flotilla said. The organisers of the flotilla said Israeli forces […]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-05-18T14:53:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-18T14:53:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/","name":"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png","datePublished":"2026-05-18T14:53:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-18T14:53:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-21-14.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126136\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Israeli forces reportedly detain Saad Edhi, others after intercepting Gaza aid flotilla"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126138,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126136\/revisions\/126138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}