Final Global Sumud Flotilla Vessel Intercepted by Israeli Forces

ASHDOD, Israel — The last of the 42 vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces early Friday morning, following days of heightened tensions at sea. The flotilla, which aimed to break the blockade of Gaza, saw its boats approaching the Israeli coast before being boarded by military personnel.

A number of the intercepted vessels have been confirmed to have arrived at Ashdod Naval Base, with tracking data from MarineTraffic showing their movements. As of Friday morning, five boats including Estrella Y Manuel were moored in the port since Thursday evening. Other vessels, including Adara, Capten Nikos, Ohwayla, and Seulle, were also located there.

An initial statement from the flotilla claimed that hundreds of participants were transferred onto the MSC Johannesburg, a Liberia-flagged container ship, seen about 26 nautical miles from Ashdod. However, the vessel’s operators, MSC, refuted this statement, clarifying that it is a container ship and not a naval vessel, suggesting discrepancies in the flotilla’s account.

In a related incident, video footage was released showing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir referring to the detained flotilla participants as ‘terrorists.’ This claim has sparked further scrutiny, as the locations of these recordings have not been definitively verified.

BBC Verify has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces to inquire about the status of the detained vessels and participants, as citizens from over 40 countries were involved in the flotilla mission. The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla have also been contacted for their response regarding these developments.