Israeli forces intercept last boat from Gaza flotilla

Israeli forces have intercepted the last boat from an international flotilla trying to break Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza as protests took place around the world against Israeli actions in Gaza and the arrests of some 450 activists who were on the boats.

A far-right Israeli minister confronted the detained flotilla activists, mocking their aid initiative and accusing them of supporting “terrorism” in a video circulating on Friday.

The last boat, Marinette, had been trailing behind the rest of the vessels and was still sailing on to the Palestinian territory in the early hours of Friday, a day after the Israeli navy stormed 41 other boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla and detained the activists, saying they would be deported.

A livestream from the Marinette showed the moment Israeli troops boarded the vessel. The flotilla, which was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza, was the largest attempt so far to try to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s interceptions started on Wednesday night and continued through Thursday as boat by boat was stopped off Gaza’s shore and the activists – including Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European politicians – were detained.

Israeli authorities had warned the Marinette would be stopped too if it continued on its journey.

The interceptions of the flotilla boats and the arrest of the activists sparked demonstrations across continents, from Latin America to Asia.

In Europe, tens of thousands of people took to the streets again late on Thursday in Madrid, as well as in the Spanish city of Barcelona. Rome, Paris and Geneva also saw protests denouncing the interceptions and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Italy’s largest union called for a one-day general strike on Friday.

In Israel’s southern port of Ashdod, the country’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed visiting the site where activists were being processed ahead of their expected deportations.

He accused the flotilla participants – who come from more than 40 countries including Ireland – of supporting “terrorism”, and aboard one of the seized boats, mocked the activists’ aid initiative.

In the footage, the activists are seen sitting cross-legged on the floor while Mr Ben-Kvir stands and delivers his accusations. One person is heard shouting back “Free Palestine” but it was not immediately clear from the footage who that was.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed to Ashdod as Israel on Thursday marked Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, to handle the detentions of the activists.

Israel had repeatedly criticised the flotilla and accused some members of links to Hamas, while providing little evidence. Activists have strongly rejected the accusations.

One of the flotilla boats that had been sailing at the back of the convoy — and turned back to avoid an Israeli interception — returned to Cyprus’s Larnaca port on Thursday evening with 21 people aboard.

The captain of the Summertime Jong, Palestinian Osama Qashoo, 43, said he turned back as his boat’s mission was just to support the rest of the flotilla.

Mr Qashoo said he was determined to try again at some point.

The activists are “on the right side of history by being on the side of the oppressed people,” he told The Associated Press.

Malaysian activist Nadi Al-Nuri, who was also aboard the Summertime Jong and is on the flotilla’s steering committee, said that while the boats did not make it to Gaza and none of their humanitarian aid reached Palestinians, they would not give up.

“We will do this again and again and until we reach our end,” Mr Al-Nuri said. “And that is to stop the genocide and to liberate Palestine.”

Another flotilla of boats with dozens of activists set sail last week from Italy across the Mediterranean Sea. The nine-vessel group made of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens group was still days away from the Palestinian strip, according to the boats’ tracker.