Israel "will not allow" naval blockade of Gaza to be broken, says foreign minister

Israel "will not allow" its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip to be broken, its foreign minister said Thursday, hours after 22 ships from a humanitarian flotilla were intercepted in the Mediterranean.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Israeli forces intercepted 22 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which had been trying to break the maritime blockade of the besieged enclave, where NGOs say the humanitarian situation is worsening.

In a statement, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sarr described the convoy as a "provocation flotilla," adding that the detained activists "will be disembarked in the coming hours on the Greek coast." He said they were all unharmed.

GSF said its vessels were "abducted," with Israeli naval forces intercepting and boarding their boats, calling the Israeli actions "piracy."

Israel's foreign ministry said that 175 or so activists were "now making their way peacefully to Israel," calling it "the condom flotilla," a reference to prophylactics having been found on a previous convoy. 

The GSF website shows that while 22 boats were intercepted, 36 still appeared to be heading toward Gaza – edging along the south coast of Crete.

Last October, Israeli forces stopped GSF's previous flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip, arresting and deporting more than 470 people, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.