Israeli Forces Intercept Activist Flotilla off Crete

Israeli forces moved for the second time to stop the activist Global Summid Flotilla, made up of small boats heading toward Gaza. The action came after the Israeli Foreign Ministry once again called on the boats to turn back and after Israeli forces last month intercepted some of the boats off Crete.

The group has declared its goal is to establish and sustain a humanitarian corridor and assert Palestinian sovereignty. Calling itself a legal, non-violent humanitarian mission, the group issued statements demanding safe passage to Gaza.

The group had stopped to regroup in the Turkish port of Marmaris after last month’s intercept near Greece. The Israelis stopped 21 small boats and took into custody, the group says, 181 of its participants. All but two people, whom the Israelis labeled organizers and agitators, were released in Greece the following day. The two individuals were taken to Israel and detained for 10 days before being deported.

The group resumed the trip four days ago, reporting it had 54 small boats. They claimed to be made up of small boats from Portugal, Italy, San Marino, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Poland. The Israelis asserted that during the stop in Turkey, the group had also taken aboard members of two violent Turkish groups, including one group that is designated a terrorist organization. The organizers said today there were 44 Turkish nationals aboard their boats but denied the Israeli assertions that they were terrorists.

Monday morning, May 18, around 10:30 local time off Cyprus, the group claimed its 54 small boats were encircled and intercepted by Israeli commandos operating on small, fast boats. They asserted they were in international waters more than 250 nautical miles from Israel and called it “another illegal, high-seas aggression” by Israeli forces. The group says it is documenting the commanders and soldiers involved and will hand over the information to international lawyers.

At first, the organizers reported that 16 boats were intercepted today. Later, they said 22 boats with a total of 38 have now been stopped. They, however, said 14 boats avoided the intercept and continue to sail toward Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has called the group agitators and vowed to continue its legal blockade of Gaza. They said they would continue to turn back any attempts to breach the blockade. In the past, they called on the group to sail to Israel and said the aid the group claimed to be carrying would be given to internationally recognized groups to transport it to Gaza.

“Once again, a provocation for the sake of provocation: another so-called ‘humanitarian aid flotilla’ with no humanitarian aid,” the Foreign Ministry asserted today in social media postings.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declared that Gaza is receiving large amounts of aid through the recognized channels. It says more than 1.5 million tonnes and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered the territory in the past seven months. In the past, the Israelis asserted that Hamas was seizing the aid.

The organizers of the Global Sumud group reported last week that they had also launched a coordinated land convoy. Today, they said it consists of more than 30 vehicles, including seven ambulances and 20 mobile homes. They reported that the convoy, however, had been stopped in Eastern Libya, saying that Egypt was pressuring the Libyans to intervene.

The group has launched prior attempts to reach Gaza. In May 2025, they were stopped after a fire broke out on their lead boat while anchored near Malta. They asserted Israeli forces bombed the boat. A second flotilla was launched in October 2025, and the small boats made it close to the Gaza coast before Israeli forces intercepted the boats. The activists were deported by the Israelis back to Europe.