KUALA LUMPUR — Israeli naval forces have seized 41 vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and detained more than 450 international activists bound for Gaza, leaving only a single ship still sailing towards the besieged enclave.
The detained participants — from 47 countries including Malaysia, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Turkiye, Greece, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Britain and France — were transferred to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Israel’s foreign ministry said they would be deported to Europe.
According to the Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC), the sole remaining vessel, Marinette, was in international waters about 80 nautical miles from Gaza late last night, as reported by Bernama.
The ship, which has no Malaysian activists on board, had entered the “yellow zone” of the flotilla’s mapped route, just 10 nautical miles from where Israeli forces began intercepting other boats.
The GSF confirmed that the flotilla had been carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies when it set sail in late August, marking the largest attempt in years to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has lasted nearly 18 years.
The United Nations and human rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave, home to 2.4 million people, is sliding into uninhabitability as famine and disease spread.
Israel tightened its restrictions in March, closing border crossings and blocking food and medicine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza health officials. — October 3, 2025