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Flotilla Bound for Gaza Reports it is Being Intercepted

Gaza flotilla
Flotilla set off from Spain with vessels joining from Italy

Published Oct 1, 2025 4:11 PM by The Maritime Executive


The activist flotilla bound for Gaza ignored repeated calls for it to turn back or to hand over the material aboard its vessels, and is now reporting that an interception has begun as it neared the coastline. The group has repeatedly accused the Israelis of harassment, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement calling the flotilla a “provocation.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which calls itself the biggest maritime mission to break the siege on Gaza, highlighted that it had reached Wednesday evening, October 1, approximately 100 nautical miles off the coast, the same point where a prior vessel was intercepted and escorted to port. Complicating the already tense situation was the flotilla’s timing, reaching Israel around sunset and Kol Nidre, the start of the holiest day, Yom Kippur, of the Jewish calendar. 

 

 

The group had earlier accused the Israeli Navy of harassment on September 30. They claimed the Israelis were jamming their electronic signals. They repeated the claim on Wednesday night as they reported that three Israeli naval vessels had met the flotilla and appeared to be targeting the largest vessels for interception. The group’s live tracker showed three of the 44 vessels as having been intercepted, with unconfirmed reports that one was the vessel carrying activist Greta Thunberg.

The group had posted on social media that it saw “20+ unidentified vessels on our radar, just three miles ahead of our fleet.” They claimed the Israelis had threatened to confiscate their vessels.

Hours earlier, the Israel Defense Force broadcast a warning to the flotilla that it was approaching a blockade zone. They instructed the flotilla to sail to the Port of Ashdod, where it said the aid would be landed, inspected, and transferred to Gaza. 

 

 

European leaders, including Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, called on the group to accept the compromise of handing over their aid to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which would deliver it to Gaza. They had said the flotilla should turn back, with Meloni saying she feared the flotilla “could undermine attempts to reach a peace deal.” The United States and Israel presented a plan and were awaiting Hamas’ response for what they said would be an immediate stop to the war.

The Israel Foreign Ministry said, “The flotilla refused because they are not interested in aid, but in provocation.”

Among those aboard the vessels, in addition to Thunberg, are a grandson of Nelson Mandela, Mandla Mandela, and elected officials. The group claims to have over 500 people on the vessels.

The Israelis intercepted previous attempts to reach Gaza, taking the boats to Ashdod and deporting the activists. In May, another vessel was hit by an explosive off Malta, and the group reported two attacks at the beginning of September, while it was anchored in Tunisia, and a further explosion while it was in the Mediterranean.