Global Sumud Flotilla Detects Unidentified Ships Near Convoy Heading to Gaza

The Global Sumud Flotilla announced late Sunday that it had detected "unidentified vessels" near its boats as it headed to the Gaza Strip to break an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

The flotilla said on the US social media platform X that "naval vessels and speedboats were spotted in front of, behind, and to one side of the fleet."

Al-Jazeera Net

Organizers also said there was “movement of unidentified drones and military elements” around the convoy, after the flotilla announced its arrival in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Anadolu Ajansı report placed the flotilla’s earlier interception by the Israeli army off the coast of Crete between April 29 and April 30, and said the aid flotilla was attacked on April 30 near Crete, some 600 nautical miles from its destination.

TRT عربي said the Resilience Fleet confirmed on its X account that it had spotted movements of unknown ships in its vicinity, noting that 'ships and fast boats' were positioned in front of the fleet, behind it, and on one side.

TRT عربي also said that, according to the tracking system published on the fleet's website, the remaining distance to reach Gaza is estimated at about 310 nautical miles.

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Jazeera Net reported that the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said Israel is preparing to take control of the fleet, adding that estimates indicate it will reach the area within two or three days.

In the same report, an Israeli source was quoted saying, "We will take control of the fleet's ships and transfer the participants to a floating prison," and another line added that "We expect the participants this time to be more violent than in previous times and perhaps they will use bladed weapons," according to him.

The TRT عربي report said that on Thursday the fleet sailed with the participation of 54 ships from Marmaris, a Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast, in a renewed attempt to break the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza.

“Global Sumud Flotilla detects 'unknown ships' near its convoy Flotilla says 'naval vessels and speedboats were spotted in front of, behind, and to one side of the flotilla”

Anadolu Ajansı

TRT عربي said the fleet included members of the board of directors of the Global Resilience Fleet—Samira Aq Deniz Ordu, Iman Al-Makhlofi, Saeed Abu Kashk, Ko Tinmuwang, and Natalia Maria—and a large number of activists from 70 countries.

Al-Jazeera Net said that on 29 April the Israeli army carried out an illegal attack in international waters off Crete, targeting ships of the 'Global Resilience Fleet' which included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish nationals.

Al-Jazeera Net added that Israel detained 21 boats with around 175 activists aboard, while the rest of the boats continued their journey toward Greek territorial waters, as the effort continued to challenge the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.