Gaza flotilla rebuffs calls to stop, as Israel readies for complex interception
The large flotilla attempting to break the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip rejected Italy’s calls to stop late Tuesday, saying it was nearing a “critical zone” and expecting Israel to take action soon to stop its advance.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have been readying to intercept the many vessels and take the hundreds of activists to shore to be deported or detained, in a complex operation that could potentially come to a head during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism, which starts Wednesday evening.
The 47-boat Global Sumud Flotilla is set to reach the Strip this week. It is carrying over 500 activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, as well as parliamentarians and lawyers.
The Israeli Navy is set to intercept the boats, and in the past has done so well before the activists were able to get close to Gaza’s coast. Israel has previously dismissed the flotillas as publicity stunts, and on Tuesday, it accused some key participants of having ties to Hamas.
The flotilla is approaching the 150-nautical-mile (172-mile, 278-kilometer) limit off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. Flotilla participants told The Associated Press they expect Israeli authorities to intervene as they approach a “critical zone” late Tuesday. An Italian spokeswoman for the flotilla, Maria Elena Delia, said in a video on Instagram that “Israel will probably attack us tonight, because all the signals point to this happening.”
The Sumud flotilla is being escorted by one Spanish and two Italian navy vessels, which their respective governments have clarified are not expected to use military force.
The Italian defense ministry said on Tuesday that the country’s ships would stop following the flotilla once it gets within 150 nautical miles of the shore.
And Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni urged the flotilla to stop immediately, saying that the aid mission could undermine hopes for peace based on US President Donald Trump’s 20-point proposal for ending the war, rebuilding Gaza and moving toward limited Palestinian statehood.
The organizers claimed the Italian statements amounted to “sabotage.”
“[The Italian government] is choosing to escort us only to the point of danger and then try to peel us away, delivering us back to shore empty-handed, as Israel continues to slaughter and starve the Palestinian people with complete impunity,” the flotilla said in a statement. “We say again: the flotilla sails onward.”
After activists detained, some vessels may be sunk
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said last week that the Navy was ready to intercept the boats, although he noted that it would be a greater challenge than past flotilla attempts due to the number of vessels.
Due to the large number of vessels, the Navy is expected to board the boats, detain the activists, and bring them to one large Navy ship, and from there, bring them to Ashdod Port to be deported from the country. Some of the activists’ vessels may be towed to Ashdod Port as well, though military sources said they expect that some may be sunk at sea by the Navy.
Members of the group of ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are seen moored at the small island of Koufonisi, south of the island of Crete, on September 26, 2025. (Eleftherios ELIS / AFP)
Hebrew media reported Tuesday that some 600 police officers were taking part in the effort to take the participants, once they are brought to Ashdod Port, to a facility in southern Israel during Yom Kippur, and to then deport those who agree to be deported on Thursday evening.
Those who refuse will be dealt with by Interior Ministry staff using a special tribunal to be formed within the Ketziot jail, according to Channel 12.
The report added that around eight ambulances were set to be ready near the coast in case flotilla participants require medical attention, and that several hospitals have been put on high alert.
Haaretz reported that Israeli security officials had recommended that the government reach diplomatic understandings with the flotilla organizers rather than a military intervention, and believe the leaders didn’t adequately explore this option. The report also said the organizers had rejected all the offers presented to them.
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since the Hamas terror group seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007 in a violent coup.
Israel said it was necessary to limit Hamas’s ability to smuggle in arms. Critics of the blockade said it amounted to collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Displaced Palestinians walk through a tent camp in al-Muwasi, an area that Israel has designated as a safe zone, in Khan Younis southern Gaza Strip, September 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza. The war started on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with most of the population displaced.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 66,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it had killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
