Israeli forces have intercepted a Gaza aid flotilla comprising around 40 boats carrying aid and foreign activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, to Gaza, triggering international condemnation and protests on Thursday.
Cameras broadcasting live feeds from the boats, verified by Reuters, showed Israeli soldiers sporting helmets and night vision goggles boarding the ships, while passengers huddled together in life vests with their hands up.
A video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed Sweden’s Thunberg, the most prominent passengers of the flotilla, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.
According to a tracker on the organiser, Global Sumud Flotilla’s website, 40 boats were listed as “intercepted” or “assumed intercepted”. Another two were said to be “sailing” but one of those appeared to be stationary.
Those vessels intercepted and those on board were expected to be taken initially to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where one ship was seen arriving by a Reuters witness.
