Israel boasts about the attack on the flotilla and will deport all activists.

BarcelonaHeThe Israeli army has finally managed to intercept the 44 ships that formed the Global Sumud Flotilla, the solidarity initiative attempting to open a humanitarian corridor in Gaza. It took nearly 18 hours to complete their assault and deactivate the humanitarian mission, ever since the first Israeli military ships stormed the flotilla at seven o'clock on Wednesday evening when it was 80 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, in international waters. Just after midday on Thursday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement assuring that the flotilla's "provocation" "has ended," implying that all the boats had been stopped. Minutes earlier, flotilla sources said that only four boats were still sailing towards Gaza, but it was finally confirmed that they had been intercepted by Israel. Only one small boat remained, the Marinette, which had been delayed and which Israel warned would also be intercepted if it continued to approach. This Friday morning, Marinette, with six people on board, was already 43 nautical miles from the coast and still moving forward.

A single boat, the Mikeno, was able to break through the Israeli naval blockade on Thursday and enter Palestinian waters off the coast of Gaza, but remained about 7 miles offshore. There, its GPS signal was lost, and it was eventually confirmed that it had been intercepted by Israeli forces. However, neither boat has managed to unload the supplies it was carrying, mainly medicines and infant formula, in Gaza, which have been confiscated by Israel.

The approximately 500 activists attempting to smuggle aid into Gaza have been detained and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, held completely incommunicado. The flotilla's legal team reported Thursday afternoon that they had not been allowed to speak with their clients and that hearings on deportation orders had begun without giving them access to legal counsel, which constitutes a "serious violation" of the detainees' rights.

Shortly after, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that Israel intends to deport all the activists between October 6 and 7, early next week, on flights to Madrid and London. The minister in Giorgia Meloni's far-right government explained that he had spoken by phone with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, who had detailed this "unique measure of forced expulsion." Israel is in the midst of celebrating Yom Kippur this Thursday, the holiest holiday in the Jewish calendar, which halts all activity in the country. Therefore, they will have to wait until midnight, when it ends, for the detainees to be "transferred to a facility in Beersheba." Tajani also explained that they will receive their first consular visits tomorrow, Friday.

Still in the midst of the military assault on the Flotilla, the Israeli army showed in a video the arrest of climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was traveling on one of the boats, and in a mocking tone ended its statement with the phrase: "Greta and her friends are safe and sound." The Flotilla organization has no evidence of anyone being harmed, but cannot confirm it either. Among the detained Catalan activists isFormer mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, MP Pilar Castillejo and around twenty trade unionists, lawyers, activists, and journalists. Four of the vessels attacked were sailing under the Spanish flag.

Global condemnation in Israel

Protests against the Israeli assault on the flotilla have erupted worldwide from Wednesday night until Thursday. In Barcelona, ​​Istanbul, Naples, and Buenos Aires, the streets have filled to denounce a mission that once again drew attention to the terrible Israeli blockade that is starving Palestinians in Gaza. Colombian President Gustavo Petro expelled the Israeli diplomatic mission in the country and condemned "a new international crime by Netanyahu." Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the attack "on civilians transporting vital humanitarian aid to Gaza." In Italy, the main union has called a general strike this Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned Israel's actions against a mission "that sought to draw attention to the barbarity of children starving in Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to oppressed Palestinians," and the Turkish chief prosecutor's office condemned the attacks on the ships. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged Israel to immediately release the South Africans who were part of the flotilla, including former President Nelson Mandela's grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela.

Israel has blocked the entry of people and goods into Gaza, to varying degrees, since Hamas won the 2006 elections. Since then, the population of Gaza has lived under a siege that includes a naval blockade. Several civilian initiatives have attempted to break it since then, but this one has generated the most international attention, in the context of the genocide and famine caused by Israel in the Strip. According to the UN, hunger already affects more than 641,000 people in Gaza, but 100% of the Strip's population, nearly two million, are facing severe food insecurity. The Flotilla carries a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid and its mission is to demonstrate that, if governments and international organizations have the will to do so, they can establish a maritime corridor to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population.

Yom Kippur could also lengthen the judicial process (Israeli law allows for a 72-hour detention period, which can be shortened if the person voluntarily agrees to deportation from the country), because the courts are closed and prison procedures are halted. Some detainees have already announced they will go on hunger strike. Furthermore, the procedures will vary in each case—on previous flotillas, non-Western crew members received worse treatment—and it remains to be seen whether the threat from the far-right Interior Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said he would consider them "terrorists," will materialize. In fact, the Israeli government has, without evidence, accused the flotilla of having ties to Hamas.