Final flotilla vessel, Marinette, intercepted
A screengrab from a live stream video shows Israeli navy forces approaching the Marinette, believed to be the only ship from the Global Sumud Flotilla still sailing towards Gaza.
Flotilla organisers reported that it has now been intercepted.

Maira Butt3 October 2025 08:58
Ben Gvir taunts flotilla aid volunteers calling them ‘terrorists’
Footage circulating on social media shows Israeli Security Minister Ben Gvir appearing to taunt volunteers captured by the Israeli military.
Dozens of aid vessels were stopped as they approached the Gaza Strip and over 500 volunteers were detained.
“These are the flotilla terrorists,” he is heard saying. “Look at them, supporters of murderers.”
He said the group had left their ships “a mess”. Activists sitting on the floor chanted “Free Palestine” in return.
The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza condemned the action, saying it showed Mr Gvir “swaggering before activists from 50 countries around the world, surrounded by his guards.”

Maira Butt3 October 2025 08:45
Police and protesters clash outside Downing Street
There were clashes outside Downing Street as protesters demonstrated against the Israeli military’s detention of volunteers carrying aid to the Gaza Strip.
Footage circulating on social media shows chaotic scenes at Parliament Square in London as Police appeared to push back protesters. Reports suggest that some were arrested.
The Independent has contacted the Met Police for comment.


Maira Butt3 October 2025 08:20
Vessel docks in Cyprus
A vessel has docked in Cyprus, the island’s government said on Friday.
A spokesperson did not confirm whether the boat was part of the Gaza aid flotilla or those stopped by the Israeli military.
The Marinette continued to sail, diverting its route after every other vessel was stopped by the Israeli military.
Volunteers have been detained, in what organisers have called illegal “abductions”.
A government spokesperson said that the ship, carrying 21 foreign nationals, asked to dock in Larnaca for refuelling and humanitarian reasons.

Maira Butt3 October 2025 07:42
Detainees to be kept in high-security prison
Dozens of activists taken off a flotilla of yachts in international waters by Israeli commandos will be incarcerated at the notorious Ketziot prison in the Negev desert.
Omer Shatz, an Israeli international law expert at Sciences Po University in Paris, said unlike where flotilla activists were held the last time, Ketziot was a high-security prison that did not normally hold immigration detainees.
Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 07:30
What happens to Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel?
Israeli forces have intercepted boats carrying aid for Gaza, thwarting the latest attempt by activists to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory and deliver supplies to its starving population.
As happened after previous attempts to breach the blockade, the detained activists were taken to Israel where they faced deportation, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.
Some of those on the flotilla, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, had also been detained by Israeli authorities during previous attempts to break the blockade.
In the past, activists detained by Israel were not criminally prosecuted and instead their presence was treated as an immigration matter.
Adalah, a human rights organisation and legal centre in Israel, represented aid flotilla participants who were detained by Israel.
Suhad Bishara, the organisation’s legal director, told Reuters that her team was awaiting the arrival of those detained overnight in the port of Ashdod, 40km north of the Gaza Strip.
She said once the flotilla crews arrived, they would be identified and transferred to the immigration authority to process them for anticipated deportation, before being moved into custody, likely in the Ketziot prison in southern Israel.

Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 07:00
UN warns Israeli interception widens scope of unlawful blockade
The UN has commented on the Israeli interception of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
“As the occupying power, Israel must ensure food and medical supplies for the population to the fullest extent of the means available, or to agree to and facilitate impartial humanitarian relief schemes, delivered rapidly and without hindrance,” UN spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in an email to Reuters.
Mr Al-Kheetan called on Israel to respect the rights of detained volunteers.
Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 06:31
Mikeno vessel may have entered Palestinian territorial waters
One of the flotilla’s vessels – the Mikeno – appeared to have got close to Gaza’s coast into the Palestinian territorial waters. However, the ship was later intercepted.
“Mikeno, sailing under the French flag, may have entered Palestinian territorial waters according to AIS data, but remains out of contact,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement on Thursday.

Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 06:00
Photos: Protests in Mexico over Israeli interception of flotilla


Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 05:15
Reports of injuries among 14 Irish citizens detained after Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted
At least 14 Irish citizens were detained after Israel intercepted a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.
Simon Harris, who is also the Foreign Affairs Minister, said there may be two other citizens whose presence is still being verified.
There are no reports of injuries among the Irish citizens, he said.
Stuti Mishra3 October 2025 04:45