Desk Report,
They brought aid to Gaza on a ship, but Israel seized it.
Israeli forces have intercepted the ‘Handala’, a ship belonging to the international non-profit organization Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which was carrying relief supplies for the besieged Gaza Strip. The organization said in a statement that the ship’s passengers were ‘kidnapped’. At the time, the ship was in international waters about 40 nautical miles (47 kilometers) off the Gaza coast.
They brought aid to Gaza on a ship, but Israel seized it.
In a statement, the FFC said that Israeli forces turned off all cameras on the ship. The incident occurred at around 12:15 am local time on Saturday. The organization has not had any contact with the ship since then. The statement also said that the ship, named Handala, was unarmed. It was carrying ‘life-saving supplies’ for the Gaza Strip. Among them were baby food, diapers, food, and medicine. The Israeli forces kidnapped the ship’s passengers. The cargo on the ship was seized. The incident took place in international waters off the coast of Gaza, outside the territorial waters of Palestine, which is a clear violation of international maritime law.
The FFC said that a total of 21 people from 10 countries were on board the ship. 19 of them were human rights activists. The other two were Al-Jazeera journalists.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian independence-seeking armed organization Hamas has strongly condemned Israel for blocking the aid ship heading to Gaza. The organization has called on the United Nations to condemn the incident, calling it an act of ‘piracy.’ In a statement, Hamas said, ‘We hold the Netanyahu government responsible for the insecurity of the human rights activists on board the ship. We also call on the flotilla to continue its operations until the blockade on Gaza is lifted.’
Praising the courage of international rights activists, Hamas said in a statement, ‘Despite the threats of the Zionists, their (rights activists) message has reached our people and the world.’
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