• Organisers slam seizure of vessels, describe it as ‘piracy’
• Pakistan, other Muslim nations denounce move
• Trump’s Board of Peace labels flotilla ‘love-boat activism’

ATHERINOLAKKOS / ATHENS: More than 100 pro-Palestinian activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said.

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israels blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.

Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 vessels on Thursday by its country’s military. Flotilla organisers put the number of “kidnapped” activists at 211.

On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to shore where buses and an ambulance waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.

However, the organisers said two activists remained with Israeli authorities.

Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said 30 Spaniards had arrived in Crete but one Spanish national, Saif Abu Keshek, had been “illegally” arrested and was being taken to Israel.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Keshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation” and that he and Thiago Avila, suspected of “illegal activity”, would be brought to Israel for questioning.

Germany and Italy’s foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying they were following developments with “deep concern”. A source who asked not to be identified said that while 22 boats had been intercepted by Israel, 47 others were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza. Each ship is carrying about a ton of food, medical and other equipment, the source said.

Israeli action condemned

The organisers condemned Israel’s seizure of its vessels. “This is piracy,” they said in a statement. “This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences.”

Pakistan and 10 other countries condemned on Friday in “strongest terms” the Israeli assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which they said was as a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing the attention of the international community to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

A joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Brazil, Jordan, Spain, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Maldives, South Africa and Libya said the Israeli attacks against the vessels and the unlawful detention of humanitarian activists in international waters constituted “flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.

‘Love-boat activism’

The ‘Board of Peace’ established by US President Donald Trump in January labelled the Gaza-bound flotilla seized by Israel as “love-boat activism”, while highlighting the board’s work in scaling up aid to the Strip since the October ceasefire.

“The ‘flotilla’ heading to Gaza is the performative ‘love-boat activism’ of people who know nothing of and care even less for the condition[s] of [the residents of Gaza],” it said in a post on X.

It maintained that since the ceasefire last October, the Board of Peace had “significantly scaled up support for the people of Gaza”. “Food aid is reaching [three] times more people than before,” it added.

“We are currently hard at work on the next critical step in Gaza’s recovery: finalising the process by which Hamas decommissions its weapons and allows for the transition to a new government that will lead the redevelopment of this war-torn region. This will allow us to accelerate aid and rebirth.”

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026