The last stragglers of the activist flotilla ships were intercepted on their way to Gaza on Tuesday after most of their fleet had been interdicted by the Israeli Navy on Monday, according to the Global Sumud Flotilla, and the tandem land convoy was reportedly halted by Libyan forces.
About six vessels were intercepted on Tuesday afternoon, north of Port Said. After the Vanguard ship, the Andros, had been stopped, other ships scattered, according to the GSF tracking platform, but were eventually all stopped.
On Instagram, the GSF claimed that shots were fired by Israeli naval commandos, but no one was reported wounded. N12 news site reported that the fire was from warning shots, using rubber bullets.
GSF placed their hopes with another straggler contingent of the Sirius and the Cabo Blanco, which reportedly attempted to flank from the north, coming down from the direction of Cyprus and west of Haifa. The pair, the final vessels in the flotilla, were interdicted as the sun began to set.
Israel intercepts final Gaza flotilla ships as activists scatter near Egypt
If they had not been stopped and continued at their previous speed and trajectories, the vessels could have reached Gaza by Tuesday night.
The Israeli Navy intercepted most of the 54 vessels and 500 activists on Monday, west of Cyprus. Among those detained was Irish President Catherine Connolly’s sister, according to the Irish Times.
The GSF said in a press release that it expected that hundreds of its detained activists would arrive at about 4:30 pm Tuesday at a port in “occupied Palestine.”
On Instagram, GSF criticized the Joint Rescue Coordination Center, Cyprus, asserting that it did not heed its international legal obligations by responding to SOS alerts from one of its vessels.
In tandem with the flotilla, a land convoy of 30 vehicles and 200 activists said that it faced a deployment by the Libyan National Army to prevent them from crossing Sirte.
GSF and the Maghreb Sumud Organization said that negotiations between the forces and the convoy, mediated by the Red Crescent, had been suspended. A convoy delegation opted to drive ahead to Sirte to deliver a missive of “demands.”
“A military force now blocks unarmed civilians from delivering aid to a besieged population,” GSF said in a press release. “This is not a grey area. It is a violation of international humanitarian law, and those responsible will be held accountable.”
The convoy set out on Saturday from Zalitan, but on Sunday stalled on the outskirts of Sirte, where a June convoy was disbanded after Libyan forces would not let them pass.
The convoy said that it had to consider the security situation, as there were already indications that forces were again gathering to stop them. Later on Monday, the convoy said that it was continuing on its journey to Egypt.
The interceptions came weeks after the interception of the flotilla on its first blockade run attempt. On April 29, around 20 ships were stopped, and the activists were deposited on Greek shores, besides two activist leaders who were detained for questioning until last Sunday.
One of the two was GSF steering committee member and Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) General Secretariat member Saif Abukeshek, who was deported last Sunday.
On Tuesday, the US Treasury sanctioned Abukeshek for his connection to PCPA, which was designated a Hamas front in January.
The activist fleet had departed from Marmaris on Thursday, claiming that they were drawing attention to a naval blockade stifling Gaza and bringing aid.
Israeli authorities have claimed that no humanitarian aid was found on the vessels they interdicted, and that sufficient aid was entering Gaza daily.
The flotilla had originally set out from Barcelona on April 15, after their April 12 launch date was disrupted by stormy weather. The flotilla met with additional vessels in Italy before sailing with 56 vessels on April 26 to attempt their first blockade run of the year.