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Israel has announced that its navy managed to halt a humanitarian flotilla trying to enter the Gaza shoreline.

However, reports indicate that one vessel, identified as the ship Mikeno, slipped past the naval blockade and stopped within Gaza's coastal waters before contact with the ship was cut off.

This marks the initial instance since Israel imposed a sea blockade on Gaza's waters in 2009 that an unauthorised humanitarian mission has gotten within 70 nautical miles of the coastline.

Israeli Response

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed that “one last boat of the provocation is still offshore.”

“If it approaches,” the ministry added, “any effort to enter an war zone and violate the blockade will likewise be stopped.”

Interception Details

Boats from the Global Sumud flotilla, which consisted of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, attorneys, and activists, were seized on Wednesday evening by Israeli forces roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza.

Video footage from the ministry depicted activists sitting on a ship deck surrounded by military personnel on the flotilla’s lead vessel, the Alma.

Via a recorded statement posted on Instagram just prior to the boarding, one activist said: “We are about to be intercepted by Israel.”

Activists were arrested and taken into custody to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The ministry announced it would expel all activists on the convoy.

Onboard Reports

The mission released multiple video messages on social media with messages from individuals on board the various boats, some holding their passports and claiming they had been taken and moved to Israel without consent, reiterating that their mission was a non-violent aid effort.

Vessels were navigating in open sea north of Egypt on Wednesday when the interceptions started and had entered what has been called a “danger area.”

While still in international sea, it is an area where the navy has intercepted other boats trying to break its blockade in the previous years and which the flotilla had been warned not to enter.

Interception Timeline

About 7:25 pm, roughly 20 Israeli naval ships approached the flotilla and instructed them to turn off their engines, those on board said on social media.

Real-time video from the flotilla displayed activists sitting in a circle, wearing lifejackets as they awaited boarding. The stream cut off shortly afterwards.

“Our vessels are being illegally intercepted,” a post on the mission’s social media page read on Wednesday evening. “Cameras are not working and boats have been entered by soldiers. We are actively working to verify the well-being and status of all participants onboard.”

Video aired by news channels depicted activists on deck being hit by high-pressure streams of water. Those aboard said they also heard noises near several of the vessels, believed to be stun grenades deployed from unmanned aircraft.

International Reactions

Detainees involved several Irish citizens, including a politician, at least two lawmakers, and a European politician.

Spontaneous protests occurred in Italy in reaction to the raid. Rallies were also reported in several cities including Brussels, Athens, Buenos Aires, and Berlin, while the Spanish government urged Israel to ensure the safety and rights of those involved.

The Spanish labour minister described the interception of the aid mission as “a crime against international law” and demanded that Israel immediately release those it had arrested.

Posting on social media, the official stated: “The EU needs to break off ties with Israel right now.”

The ministry released a statement late on Wednesday night, pointing out that the flotilla was a “non-violent and humanitarian civil society initiative” and calling for the “physical integrity and rights” of the nationals on board to be upheld.

The statement concluded: “Spain will keep calling for an cessation to the war in Gaza, the massive entry of humanitarian aid, the freeing of all hostages, and the establishment of the two-state solution: Palestinian state and Israel, coexisting in calm and safety.”

The British government were “very concerned” about Israel’s interception of an global humanitarian mission headed to Gaza, the government office stated on Thursday, adding that it had communicated to Israel that the situation should be resolved without harm.

“We are very concerned about the events with the aid convoy, we are in contact with the families of a number of British nationals participating,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “The aid on the ships should be handed to humanitarian organisations on the ground to be transported securely into Gaza.”

Turkey’s foreign ministry said the Israeli “interception” on the flotilla was “an act of terror” that risked the lives of innocent civilians.

Background on the Blockade

The sea blockade was established in 2009 by Israel, an escalation of its earlier restrictions of Gaza in response to Hamas taking over of the area. It has been condemned on multiple times by the UN, which has called it “a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law”.

An expert on global law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said that as long as Israel’s blockade of Gaza was “militarily justified” – meant to prevent weapons – and a vessel intended to break the blockade, Israel could stop the vessel after giving notice.

Whether the blockade is legally sound, and its lawfulness, are disputed issues.

The mission argues it is a non-military, unarmed group and that the delivery of assistance is protected in global law. Earlier efforts by campaigners to break the naval blockade on Gaza were stopped by force by the Israel's forces.

In 2010, 10 individuals were killed by Israeli commandos who raided a ship as it was part of an humanitarian mission heading to Gaza.