Israeli military speedboats attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla 1,000 kilometers away from Israel, West of Crete, in international waters but in a Greek Search And Rescue responsibility area.
So far, there is no comment from the side of the Greek government.
Organizers of the Gaza-bound aid mission said their vessels were being intercepted by Israeli military speedboats 600 nautical miles off Gaza in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 30, 2026.
The Israeli speedboats intercepted the Gaza Flotilla with drones, communications jamming technology and armed groups, organizers and Israeli media reported.
“Military speedboats identifying themselves as Israeli, with lasers and semi-automatic weapons, approached our ships and asked the participants to go to the front of the boats and kneel,” the International Flotilla aid mission announced in an emergency briefing through the Global Sumud Flotilla channels.
Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid mission say their vessels are being intercepted by Israeli military speedboats in Greek waters west of Crete, more than 1,000km from Israel.
Crew members of the Global Sumud Flotilla say communications have been jammed and an SOS issued. pic.twitter.com/iFURTGYBGZ
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) April 29, 2026
The mission, which aimed to break the Israeli embargo and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, wrote that “Israeli military boats surrounded the boats illegally in international waters and threatened the volunteers with kidnapping and use of force.”
🚨🇮🇱 BREAKING —
Israel Kidnapped:
🇪🇸 25 Spaniards
🇹🇷 9 Turks
🇧🇷 7 Brazilians
🇲🇽 6 Mexicans
🇫🇷 4 French
🇩🇪 3 Germans
🇬🇧 3 Brits pic.twitter.com/oJ5M4iqlfI— ⭐ 𝙿𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚜 ⭐ (@PamphletsY) April 30, 2026
Communication with 11 boats was lost, and Israeli media reported that 7 of the mission’s 58 boats had been seized off Crete.
VIDEO: The moment a flotilla ship was intercepted off Crete
Gur Tsabar, a spokesman for the Global Sumud Flotilla, described the seizure of the vessels as a “direct attack on unarmed civilian vessels in international waters.” Speaking to Al Jazeera from Toronto, Chambar said the attack at sea occurred “hundreds of miles from Israel,” with the mission “surrounded and threatened with weapons.”
“This is illegal under international law. Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. Seizing these vessels amounts to unlawful detention – potentially kidnapping at sea,” Chambar told Al Jazeera.
“It is critical that all governments act now. Every government has an obligation to protect the more than 400 civilians on board and to uphold international law. Silence at this point is complicity.”
A spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla has described Israel’s boarding of its vessels as “a straight-up attack on unarmed civilian boats."
Press officer Gur Tsabar, speaking to Al Jazeera from Toronto, said the sea assault is taking place “hundreds of miles from Israel." pic.twitter.com/CWXVGVy7JZ
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 30, 2026
Surprise attack 600 nautical miles from Gaza
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a social media post that the mission was “stopped before it reached our area” and that Israeli soldiers acted with “decisiveness” against a group of “attention-seeking idiots.”
Tariq Ra’ouf, a writer and activist who is on one of the boats, told Al Jazeera how the mission was surrounded by large Israeli warships from which smaller military speedboats deployed.
“From these warships, a series of small fast military boats began to surround many of our boats. Drones were circling us and flashing us with lights. And we received messages from the Israeli military over the radio, telling us that we were violating international law and that we had to stop,” Raouf said.
Israel’s operation lasted several hours, and Raouf said the mission was in international waters near Crete when the Israeli raid began. “We are in international waters, and this is really unprecedented for Israel, because we are very far from Gaza,” he added.
More than 50 boats carrying activists from many countries set off from Italy on Sunday for the Gaza Strip, with organizers describing it as the largest humanitarian aid mission seeking to reach the besieged Palestinian territory, where it remains blockaded by the Israeli military.
The Greek government remains silent on the issue and there is not a press release by the Foreign Ministry. Worth noting that state-broadcaster ERT did not cover the issue at all.
PS I can say only this: The interception was apparently tolerated by Greece and the Costa Guard.
Had it be Turkish boats operating off Crete, Greece and Turkey would be again on the brink of a war….
Piracy?