This came in statements issued by the International Committee to Break the Siege and the Global Steadfastness Flotilla to Break the Siege, via their accounts on the American companies "X" and "Facebook", as of 21:30 GMT.
According to statements from the Steadfastness Flotilla and the International Committee for Breaking the Siege, the Israeli Navy had stormed six of the flotilla's ships by 9:30 p.m. GMT, referring to the ships at the front of the flotilla that had approached the Gaza coast the most.
The names of four of the six ships, which were illegally boarded in international waters after their communications systems were deliberately damaged, were identified: Alma, Ceres, Adara, and Deir Yassin. According to the same sources, "approximately 70 activists have been arrested, and approximately 40 ships are still determined to sail to Gaza, 165 kilometers away."
The Global Resilience Flotilla later announced that Israeli naval forces had illegally intercepted and boarded the Spectre boat, and indicated that the status of the participants and crew aboard the Alma and Adara vessels was uncertain.
The International Committee to Break the Siege noted that "the Israeli occupation is using violence against our ships, deliberately ramming one, using water cannons, and cruelly treating peaceful detainees from 50 countries around the world." It called on "governments around the world to act, just as people have begun to rise up in anger in capitals around the world. The whole story is Gaza: breaking the siege, stopping the genocide, and establishing a sea corridor."
The process is ongoing
An official Hebrew channel reported on Wednesday evening that the Israeli Navy's seizure of the Global Steadfastness Flotilla ships heading to Gaza will continue into the late night hours.
The official broadcaster, Kan, claimed that "the takeover of the Global Resilience Flotilla by the naval commando unit (Shayetet 13) and the navy is proceeding without any exceptional incidents." It added, "Because we are talking about approximately 50 ships, the operation will continue into the late hours of the night."
Israel said Wednesday evening that it had contacted the Global Steadfastness Flotilla and asked it to change course, claiming it was approaching an "active combat zone" and violating a "legal naval blockade."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed that "the sole purpose of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla (an attempt to link the flotilla to Hamas) is provocation." It claimed that "Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have all offered, and continue to offer, the flotilla a means of delivering any aid it may have to Gaza peacefully."
Coinciding with the start of the Israeli military's hijacking of the flotilla's ships, mass demonstrations erupted in several major cities around the world, including Rome, Brussels, Istanbul, Barcelona, and Berlin.
According to the International Committee and the Steadfastness Flotilla, the cameras were disabled after the Israeli raid, which Tel Aviv said came after the flotilla refused to comply with a request to change the ships' course.
According to the same sources, Israeli soldiers "assaulted activists on board the ships."
Coinciding with the Israeli boats' raid, it was announced that the status of activists on board some ships bound for Gaza had become unknown after they were intercepted and communications with them were cut off. ships' communications systems in an attempt to prevent distress calls from being sent and halt live broadcasts of the raid. "Broadcasts were already cut off from most of the ships heading to Gaza."
The Steadfastness Flotilla called for urgent international action to protect activists aboard its ships that were stormed by Israel and secure their release.
These developments coincide with the Jewish Yom Kippur celebrations, which began shortly before sunset and will continue until Thursday evening. All activities in Israel are halted, including transportation, airports, ports, media outlets, and institutions of all kinds.
According to previous reports from both the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza and the Global Steadfastness Flotilla, over the past few hours, approximately 20 Israeli boats have surrounded and approached the flotilla's vessels.
According to reports, the flotilla's ships passed the site of the attack on the Madeleine, which Israel attacked last June, and approached the site of the attack on the Hanthala, which Tel Aviv attacked last July.
Following these developments, flotilla activists resorted to wearing life jackets as a state of maximum alert was declared, as shown by live broadcast footage of the flotilla approaching the Gaza Strip, aiming to break the blockade.
Concurrent with these attacks and Israel's attempt to seize control of the ships, the Global Steadfastness Flotilla confirmed its continued sailing to the Gsailing to the Gaza Strip, despite Israel's contact with the flotilla and its request to change the course of its ships heading to the Strip.
International organizations, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly called for protection for the Steadfastness Flotilla, while the United Nations has affirmed that any attack on it is "unacceptable."
Israel, the occupying power in Palestine, has previously carried out piracy against ships bound for Gaza, seizing them and deporting the activists on board.
The fleet includes approximately 50 ships, sailing in groups separated by a few nautical miles. This makes the distance between the ships at the front and those at the rear of the fleet approximately 20 miles, according to activists participating in the flotilla.
This is the first time that approximately 50 ships have sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civil society activists from more than 45 countries.
Israel has been blockading the Gaza Strip for 18 years, leaving approximately 1.5 million Palestinians out of a population of approximately 2.4 million in the Strip homeless after their homes were destroyed by the war of extermination.
On March 2, it tightened the blockade by closing all crossings into Gaza, preventing any food, medicine, or humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, plunging the Strip into famine despite the backlog of aid trucks at its borders.
Sometimes, Israel allows very limited aid into the Strip, which fails to meet the minimum needs of the starving population and does not end the famine, especially since most trucks are robbed by gangs that the Gaza government claims Israel protects.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving 66,148 dead and 168,716 wounded, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 455 Palestinians, including 151 children.
