Israeli Navy seizes another large Gaza-bound flotilla within 40 minutes

This Wednesday morning the Navy seized nine vessels – ships of the “Freedom Coalition” flotilla intended to assist Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Within 40 minutes, the forces had seized eight small yachts and a 68-meter (about 223 feet) cruise ship carrying about one hundred activists. The vessels were escorted to the port of Ashdod.

IDF forces broadcast orders to the vessels demanding they change course and move away from the naval security closure area off the coast of Gaza; the activists on the boats refused and continued on their course.

The takeover of the cruise ship Conscience was carried out differently – Shayetet 13 commandos rappelled onto the vessel from a helicopter because of the ship’s size and the difficulty of boarding from sea level.

The operation involved naval forces across a variety of craft, including sailors from the routine security flotilla, the Shayetet 13 commando unit, the missile-boat flotilla, fighters from the Snapir unit, and other naval combat units.

The operation was directed by the Navy commander from aboard a ship at sea.

A security official told Kan News, "Understanding that this was a provocative flotilla, the Navy prepared accordingly. A documentation effort was carried out that included unique technologies, women were included as part of the force, and the units rehearsed and trained for encounters with civilians."

The activists claim the takeover occurred 120 nautical miles from the Gaza Strip, in international waters, and in some cases, their live broadcasts from the vessels were cut off.

The Foreign Ministry responded to the incident: “Another futile attempt to break the naval blockade and enter an area of combat – ended in nothing. The vessels and passengers were transferred to an Israeli port

On Yom Kippur, the IDF completed the seizure of vessels from the "Sumud Flotilla" headed to Gaza. Participants were arrested, brought to Ashdod port for interrogation, and later deported to their home countries.

Within 12 hours, the Navy had seized 41 vessels carrying over 400 activists — an operation described by the Navy as "unprecedented."

In the first hour, Shayetet 13 commandos simultaneously boarded the six leading ships Sirus, Alma, Spectra, Hugga, Adra, and Deir Yassin.

On board the Alma was pro-Palestinian activist Greta Thunberg. Footage of her arrest was shared on the Foreign Ministry’s 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) account alongside a caption in English: “Several ships from the ‘Hamas-Sumud’ flotilla have been safely stopped. Greta and her companions are safe and sound.”
However, upon arrival in Israel, Thunberg later claimed she was mistreated by Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, reports indicated that additional vessels had departed Turkey toward Gaza.

The flotilla organizers referred to these as the “second wave” of the global Sumud flotilla, aiming to “break the naval blockade on Gaza.”