Israeli Navy Goes 700 Miles to Attack Unarmed Gaza Flotilla Boats Near Greek Waters
Some boats of Global Sumud Flotilla boats at dock in Augusta, Sicily Italy (photo by Ann Wright)In the evening of Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Israeli naval forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to Gaza. An unknown number of Israeli military ships went over 700 miles to attack a 54 ship flotilla that was headed for Gaza to attempt to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring worldwide attention to the continuing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, the destruction and occupation of southern Lebanon and the attacks on Iran.
21 boats were attacked by Israeli naval forces about 80 nautical miles west of the Greek island of Crete in international waters. 179 participants from 33 countries were taken against their will from boats that were damaged by Israeli naval forces and put onto a commercial cargo ship that may arrive at the Israeli port of Ashdod around Saturday, May 2.
We anticipate that they will be processed at a dock facility in Ashdod, then transported to an Israeli prison and in 3-5 days deported from the country with a 10-100 year ban on returning to Israel, which means that one cannot get to the West Bank for actions in solidarity with Palestinians who are under attack by Zionist Israeli settlers who steal Palestinian land, animals and burn Palestinian houses and cars.
15 U.S. citizens were among the 179 that were kidnapped by Israeli forces.
32 flotilla boats remain afloat although many were damaged by Israeli naval forces and may be forced into ports on the large Greek island of Crete for repairs. No doubt the Israeli naval forces will be lurking like sharks in the waters off Crete waiting for the small boats to come out.
In the evening of Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Israeli naval forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to Gaza. An unknown number of Israeli military ships went over 700 miles to attack a 54 ship flotilla that was headed for Gaza to attempt to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring worldwide attention to the continuing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, the destruction and occupation of southern Lebanon and the attacks on Iran.
21 boats were attacked by Israeli naval forces about 80 nautical miles west of the Greek island of Crete in international waters. 179 participants from 33 countries were taken against their will from boats that were damaged by Israeli naval forces and put onto a commercial cargo ship that may arrive at the Israeli port of Ashdod around Saturday, May 2.
We anticipate that they will be processed at a dock facility in Ashdod, then transported to an Israeli prison and in 3-5 days deported from the country with a 10-100 year ban on returning to Israel, which means that one cannot get to the West Bank for actions in solidarity with Palestinians who are under attack by Zionist Israeli settlers who steal Palestinian land, animals and burn Palestinian houses and cars.
15 U.S. citizens were among the 179 that were kidnapped by Israeli forces.
32 flotilla boats remain afloat although many were damaged by Israeli naval forces and may be forced into ports on the large Greek island of Crete for repairs. No doubt the Israeli naval forces will be lurking like sharks in the waters off Crete waiting for the small boats to come out.
4 More Boats Are in Siracusa, Sicily, Italy
I am in Siracusa, Sicily, Italy with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and its four boats, two of which came from the Thousand Madleens organization.
The FFC has been sailing boats to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza since 2010 with over 35 boats sailed in the years from 2008-2025.
I am in Siracusa, Sicily, Italy with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and its four boats, two of which came from the Thousand Madleens organization.
The FFC has been sailing boats to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza since 2010 with over 35 boats sailed in the years from 2008-2025.
2025 was a remarkable year for International citizen solidarity with Palestine
2025 was a remarkable year for international citizen solidarity with Palestine. In July the “Madleen” sailboat sailed to break the Siege of Gaza, followed by the 3,000+ person Global Sumud Land Convoy through Egypt, Libya and Tunisa, followed by the FFC ship “Handala” sailing to break the blockade, followed by the large 42 boat Global Sumud Flotilla, followed by the FFC “Conscience” ship that sailed with 8 boats of the “Thousand Madleens.”
2025 was a remarkable year for international citizen solidarity with Palestine. In July the “Madleen” sailboat sailed to break the Siege of Gaza, followed by the 3,000+ person Global Sumud Land Convoy through Egypt, Libya and Tunisa, followed by the FFC ship “Handala” sailing to break the blockade, followed by the large 42 boat Global Sumud Flotilla, followed by the FFC “Conscience” ship that sailed with 8 boats of the “Thousand Madleens.”
Actions Against U.S. Complicity in the Israeli Genocide of Gaza
As a U.S. citizen in opposition to the U.S. government complicity, no matter which political party is in power, in Israeli attacks on Gaza, I have been a part of the flotilla movement since 2010 as a participant on the flotilla that included the large ship Mavi Marmara on which Israeli soldiers killed 10 and wounded 50. All six ships in that flotilla were attacked by Israeli naval forces and participants assaulted, taken to Israel, imprisoned in Israel and ultimately deported.
We will continue to sail boats until the genocide of Gaza ends and we break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
This article was produced by World BEYOND War.
About the Author: Ann Wright served in the US Army/Army Reserves for 29 years and retired as a Colonel. She was also a US diplomat for 16 years and served in US Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She is the co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.” She has been with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition since 2010, has been put in Israeli prison two times for attempting to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade on Gaza and has been on segments of flotillas in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2024.
As a U.S. citizen in opposition to the U.S. government complicity, no matter which political party is in power, in Israeli attacks on Gaza, I have been a part of the flotilla movement since 2010 as a participant on the flotilla that included the large ship Mavi Marmara on which Israeli soldiers killed 10 and wounded 50. All six ships in that flotilla were attacked by Israeli naval forces and participants assaulted, taken to Israel, imprisoned in Israel and ultimately deported.
We will continue to sail boats until the genocide of Gaza ends and we break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
This article was produced by World BEYOND War.
About the Author: Ann Wright served in the US Army/Army Reserves for 29 years and retired as a Colonel. She was also a US diplomat for 16 years and served in US Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She is the co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.” She has been with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition since 2010, has been put in Israeli prison two times for attempting to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade on Gaza and has been on segments of flotillas in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2024.
Breaking the Siege from the Sea: Israel’s
Pirate Raid on Gaza Flotillas in International
Waters
Photograph Source: Global Sumud Flotilla
In the early hours of April 30, 2026, Israeli forces committed an act of piracy in international waters off the coast of Crete — more than 1,000 kilometers from the shores of occupied Palestine. Armed commandos, supported by drones and electronic jamming, intercepted and seized over twenty vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, detaining activists and damaging engines and communications systems. This brazen violation of international law, far beyond any legitimate claim of self-defense, marks a dangerous escalation in Israel’s campaign to enforce its illegal blockade of Gaza.
The blockade itself was imposed in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. From the beginning, Israel openly calculated the precise caloric intake needed to keep the population alive but on the edge of starvation — the infamous “Red Lines” policy that deliberately restricted food, fuel, and essential goods to the bare minimum. What enters Gaza has never been about security; it has always been collective punishment designed to break a people. Hospitals lie in ruins, children die from preventable diseases and malnutrition, and medical supplies remain catastrophically scarce. The trickle of aid Israel occasionally permits is a cynical public relations exercise, not humanitarian relief.
Since October 2023, the world has watched in real time as this criminal blockade has enabled a full-scale genocide. Live-streamed images have shown entire families wiped out in their homes, hospitals systematically destroyed, schools reduced to rubble, and children starving to death in tents while the international community offered little more than empty statements. With total impunity — shielded by the United States and its European allies — Israel has escalated its campaign of extermination, turning Gaza into the most documented slaughter in modern history. The flotillas are not symbolic gestures; they are a direct, courageous challenge to this ongoing horror.
Three coordinated flotillas — the Global Sumud Flotilla, the Thousand Madleens to Gaza, and the Freedom Flotilla — are currently sailing (or attempting to sail) to break this criminal siege. They represent the largest civilian maritime effort in history to challenge the blockade and deliver humanitarian aid while keeping the world’s eyes fixed on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The flotilla movement has a proud history of resistance: in 2010, Israeli commandos attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters, boarding the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara and killing ten unarmed activists in cold blood. That massacre shocked the world and exposed Israel’s willingness to commit murder on the high seas to maintain its stranglehold.
Photograph Source: Freedom Flotilla Italia
Last fall, massive demonstrations across the Mediterranean — from Italian ports to Greek islands to Spanish harbors — built the momentum for today’s historic effort. Millions marched, ports were blockaded, and ordinary people declared that they would not be silent accomplices. In Italy, a Palestinian-led component of the Freedom Flotilla is making its own powerful contribution through the initiative “100 Cities, 100 Ports.” It combines a sailboat named the Ghassan Kanafani with a mobile camper van that travels coastal ports and inland towns, building a bottom-up campaign of education, mobilization, and solidarity. Ghassan Kanafani, the legendary Palestinian writer, journalist, and revolutionary assassinated by Mossad in 1972, remains a symbol of Palestinian resistance and cultural defiance; naming the boat after him is a deliberate act of memory and defiance.
The interception off Crete is not an isolated incident — it is the logical extension of Israel’s illegal blockade. These flotillas embody the best of internationalist solidarity. They remind the world that when governments fail — when they arm the oppressor and abandon the oppressed — ordinary people must act. The activists aboard these boats are not provocateurs; they are carrying medicine, hope, and the message that the people of Gaza are not alone.
The Italian government has rightly condemned the seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla boats. Demonstrations are erupting in towns and cities across Italy in response to this blatant act of piracy. Yet condemnation without action is not enough. Italy — like the rest of Europe — continues to maintain economic and military ties with the Zionist regime. Words of protest ring hollow while the slaughter machine is kept well-oiled.
The Israeli raid in international waters exposes the true face of the occupation: a regime so insecure in its criminality that it must attack peaceful civilians hundreds of miles from its shores. It is an admission of weakness, not strength.
The siege must be broken. The genocide must end. From the sea to the streets, from the ports of Italy to the waters off Crete, the global movement is rising. The flotillas sail on — in spirit if not always in body — and with them sails the demand for justice, freedom, and an end to the longest military occupation in modern history.
The resistance at sea continues. The resistance on land must intensify.
Free Palestine. Break the siege. End the complicity.
Michael Leonardi lives in Italy and can be reached at michaeleleonardi@gmail.com
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