Crew on the Greenpeace International vessel Arctic Sunrise report that vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla have been boarded and harassed by Israeli forces in international waters 45 nautical miles west of the Greek island Kythira and 600 nautical miles from Gaza.
A radio warning was received by the Global Sumud vessels at 18:43 UTC (21:43 local time) on the general international channel (16), with the sender identifying themselves as the Israeli Navy and demanding that the flotilla change course. This was followed by jamming communication channels, which meant putting the fleet at risk in open sea. Jamming included VHF maritime emergency SOS communication, VHF channels for flotilla coordination, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Iridium bands. At the time of writing, all communication is lost with several flotilla vessels.
By 03:47 UTC, we have confirmation that multiple vessels of the flotilla have been illegally boarded by Israeli forces and have since lost contact.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international movement of coordinated, nonviolent action, sailing to end Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza, confront the complicity that enables occupation, and stand with the Palestinian people. With the Arctic Sunrise, Greenpeace has been providing logistical support.
Greenpeace is calling on all governments to act with urgency to uphold international law and ensure the protection of the Global Sumud Flotilla with concrete steps to ensure its safe passage to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Pujarini Sen, Project Lead on board the Arctic Sunrise said: “Greenpeace stands in solidarity with the people of Gaza and with the many brave individuals risking their freedom and safety aboard the flotilla. Humanitarian assistance must be respected and protected at all times and at all costs.”
“We renew our call on world leaders to take concrete and immediate action in the face of the genocide being inflicted by Israel on the people of Gaza. The international community’s ongoing failure to enforce international law leaves it culpable for Israel’s actions.
The Israeli government continues to enforce a full blockade by land and sea of aid and food from international organisations. Blocking aid and targeting those who attempt to deliver it are violations of international humanitarian law.”
ENDS
The Israeli IDF radio transmission can be downloaded here
The Flotilla Tracker map shows the location of the vessels: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/
Live streams from the flotilla: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/live
