ISTANBUL, May 18 (Reuters) – The organisers of a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had boarded one of their vessels and that contact had been lost with another of the vessels in the eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s foreign ministry had said on X that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.
Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Live video showed military vessels approaching the vessels on Monday.
“Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and (Israeli) forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said on X.
“We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission.”
In its statement, Israel also called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately”.
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.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Ed Davies)
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