AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): While the Zionist regime has, over the past two years, subjected several freedom flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade and aid the people of the Strip to its terrorist attacks, detaining numerous prominent international activists, early this morning, Thursday, news sources reported that Israeli naval commando forces began targeting ships of the "Al-Sumud" flotilla in international waters off the coast of Crete, Greece, before they could reach the shores of the Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera reported in this regard that the Israeli army contacted the activists and demanded they return to the ports from which they had departed, warning that continuing toward Gaza would endanger them and force the Israeli army to use available means to target them.
Al Jazeera added that the Israeli army intends to take the ships to Ashdod port, where humanitarian aid will undergo security inspections before being transferred to Gaza.
Al Jazeera noted that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of the occupying regime who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, after requesting a reduction in his court hearing hours, held an emergency meeting at the Ministry of War in Tel Aviv to examine the mechanism for dealing with the Al-Sumud flotilla, which led to the order for its early targeting.
On the other hand, Patrick Bouch, a member of the Al-Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee in political analysis, stated that the ships had sailed safely from Sicilian ports toward Gaza and were initially targeted by drones and then by Israeli naval vessels.
He noted that the flotilla is still over 100 nautical miles from Gaza and that communication with some boats has been lost, without confirming their complete seizure.
Contrary to Israel's narrative, Dr. Luigi Daniele, a professor of international law, described the targeting of civilian vessels in international waters as an international crime, stating that the International Court of Justice considers Israel's blockade of Gaza illegal, and preventing humanitarian aid constitutes a violation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that while the activists in the Al-Sumud convoy only seek to help the people of Gaza, the Israeli army insists that the blockade of Gaza is legal and that attempting to break it violates international law.
In this context, Rana Hamida, spokesperson for the Al-Sumud flotilla, emphasized that the flotilla is operating under Article 87 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees freedom of navigation in international waters.
On the other hand, Ghazlan Ghazlan, a human rights activist on the flotilla, predicted that the activists would face inhumane treatment similar to previous flotilla experiences, including physical attacks, sleep deprivation, and being forced to sign under threat.
She noted that cameras are on the boats to document any potential violations by Israeli forces.
However, Dr. Mahmoud Yazbek, an expert on the Zionist regime, believes that Israel has lost the war of narratives globally, and support for this regime has become a burden on American politicians. The situation has reached the point where Israelis, fearing the world's view of them due to the crimes committed in Gaza, hide their passports.
He concluded that the Al-Sumud flotilla has succeeded in highlighting Israel's oppressive blockade of Gaza and exposing its dimensions to the world, and the main goal is to open a safe humanitarian corridor to break the blockade that has been in place for years.
Minutes before midnight, Al-Sumud flotilla officials sent an emergency signal and reported disruption to most of their boats in the Mediterranean Sea, after which Israeli military boats were said to be approaching their ships.
The Zionist regime's navy announced that it had begun intercepting the Al-Sumud flotilla ships near the Greek island of Crete. Israeli media reported this news, and the occupying regime's navy confirmed that it had taken control of 7 ships out of 58.
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