Middle East
Israel takes further action against Gaza aid fleet
Updated on May 18, 2026 – 12:55 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
At the end of April, the “Global Sumud Flotilla” was stopped in international waters near Crete. Then another attempt followed. Now the aid fleet is being held up again by Israel.
The Israeli navy has again taken action against the international Gaza aid fleet. A live video broadcast from the Global Sumud Flotilla showed Israeli Navy soldiers boarding a boat carrying activists. According to their own tracker, the fleet was traveling west of Cyprus. The organizers spoke of an “attack” by Israel on their boats that occurred about 250 nautical miles from Gaza.
The Israeli news portal “ynet” reported that the navy had taken control of boats from the auxiliary fleet. The activists on board were to be arrested and taken to a Navy ship where there was a “floating prison”. From there they were to be taken to the Israeli port city of Ashdod. In the past, international activists were always deported back to their home countries after a while.
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Israel speaks of provocation
The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the activists in a post on Platform X that they were only interested in provocation and not in humanitarian aid. They only served the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, which continues to control part of the Gaza Strip. “Israel will not allow any violation of the lawful naval blockade of the Gaza Strip,” the post continued. Israel calls on all participants to “immediately change course and turn back.”
Second attempt within two weeks
Two weeks after its first stop by Israel’s navy, the “Global Sumud Flotilla” set off again last Thursday. She set sail from the Turkish port of Marmaris. Activists from 40 countries traveled on more than 50 ships.
The pro-Palestinian activists wanted to try again to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been in place since 2007 and is also supported by Egypt, and to bring aid supplies to the conflict region. According to Israel, there is no shortage of aid supplies in the Gaza Strip.
