Human rights group Amnesty International says Israel’s detention of flotilla activists is an unlawful act meant to penalise acts of solidarity with Gaza, where it has said Israel is carrying out a genocide, Al Jazeera reports.

“Israel’s forceful interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels and detention of its crew off the coast of Gaza is a brazen assault against solidarity activists carrying out an entirely peaceful humanitarian mission,” Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general, said in a statement.

“This seizure comes after weeks of threats and incitement by Israeli officials against the flotilla and its participants and after several attempts to sabotage some of its ships,” she noted.

“By continuing to actively block vital aid to a population against whom Israel is committing genocide, including by inflicting famine, Israel is once again demonstrating its utter contempt for the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice and its own obligations as the occupying power to ensure Palestinians in Gaza have access to sufficient food and lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”