What we covered here
• Israel’s navy boarded vessels aiming to break the country’s blockade of Gaza, detaining hundreds of people including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, according to organizers. The country’s foreign ministry said just one vessel is yet to be halted.
• Flotilla organizers labeled Israel’s interception of the ships “an illegal attack” on humanitarians, while Israel said the activists were “not interested in aid, but in provocation.”
• The flotilla set sail with more than 500 participants from dozens of countries aiming to deliver food, water and medicine to civilians in Gaza, which is facing a humanitarian crisis amid Israel’s offensive.
• In Gaza: Israel is pressing on with efforts to capture Gaza City. The Red Cross has suspended operations and the Israeli defense minister said Palestinians had a “last opportunity” to move south.
Our live coverage of Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla has ended for the day. Read through the posts below or catch up on the full story here.
Legal team for detained volunteers granted entry to Israeli port
A legal team has now been granted access to Israel’s Ashdod port to carry out “consultations” regarding the detained volunteers who were onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), according to the Adalah legal center, which is working with the GSF.
Earlier today, Adalah’s legal team had said that immigration proceedings involving the volunteers had been carried out without the activists’ lawyers present.
Israel's flotilla interception was a "calculated act of intimidation," Amnesty says
Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla was a “calculated act of intimidation” that was “intended to punish and silence critics of Israel’s genocide and its unlawful blockade on Gaza,” the head of Amnesty International said in a statement Thursday.
“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,” Callamard added, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the flotilla’s activists.
“The very fact that they had to set sail in the first place is a clear indictment of the international community’s persistent failure to end Israel’s ongoing genocide and to ensure the unhindered flow of aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” she said.
Flotilla ships seen arriving at Israeli port after interception
Vessels that were attempting to reach Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla have been seen arriving at Israel’s Ashdod port on Thursday afternoon, after they were intercepted by the Israeli navy.
One video shows several small boats traveling toward the port, with a much larger Israeli navy vessel and other smaller ships following behind.
Earlier, Israel’s foreign ministry said that all but one of the flotilla’s vessels had been halted.
Activists had immigration proceedings without lawyers, legal center says
Immigration proceedings involving the detained volunteers who were onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) have been carried out without the activists’ lawyers present, the Adalah legal center working with the GSF said on Thursday.
Earlier, the GSF said that an estimated 443 flotilla volunteers were detained by Israel after all but one of its ships were intercepted.
“Adalah has received phone calls from participants reporting that immigration authorities have already begun conducting hearings on their deportation and detention orders, in the Ashdod port. These proceedings were initiated without prior notice to their lawyers and while denying participants access to legal counsel,” Adalah said in a statement.
“This constitutes a grave violation of due process and a denial of the participants’ fundamental rights. Adalah will continue to seek access and will take legal action as necessary,” it added.
Freelance TRT World journalist killed in Gaza this week, outlet reports
Yahia Barzaq, a freelance journalist for the Turkish public broadcaster TRT World, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Tuesday, the outlet reported.
Barzaq was reportedly uploading footage about the impact of the conflict on civilians when an Israeli strike hit the cafe he was in, TRT World said.
CNN has asked the Israeli military for comment.
Before Israel’s war in Gaza, Barzaq had been a newborn baby photographer, and had opened his own studio dedicated to this.
As the conflict raged on, he dedicated Instagram posts to babies he had photographed who were later killed in Israeli attacks, sharing information about the dead children to his audience of more than 128,000 followers.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate mourned Barzaq’s death, saying in a statement that he was killed “as a result of an Israeli bombardment targeting a number of civilians in Deir al-Balah.”
A deadly war for the press: More than 200 journalists are reported to have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 attacks, making the conflict the deadliest for reporters in modern times.
Israel has barred international media from reporting freely in Gaza, leaving Palestinian journalists to report under fire.
Activists say they have lost contact with all but one flotilla vessel
The Global Sumud Flotilla has lost contact with all but one of its vessels, it said in a statement on Thursday, released shortly after Israel said it had halted nearly all of the vessels trying to reach Gaza.
The GSF said it is still in touch with the Marinette, a vessel under the Polish flag, which was last seen on a flotilla tracker off the coast of Egypt.
The activists onboard were allegedly “assaulted with water cannons, doused with skunk water, and had their communications systematically jammed in yet more acts of aggression against unarmed civilians,” the statement continued.
“This is an unlawful abduction, in direct violation of international law and basic human rights. Intercepting humanitarian vessels in international waters is a war crime; denying legal counsel and concealing the fate of those seized compounds that crime,” it added.
Israel has called the flotilla a “provocation” and says those detained will be deported.
Irish senator onboard flotilla "illegally detained by armed Israeli forces," party says
The Irish Senator Chris Andrews, who was onboard one of the flotilla’s vessels, has been “illegally detained” by the Israeli military, his party Sinn Fein said in a post on X.
Andrews was “illegally detained by armed Israeli forces in international waters while on board the Global Sumud Flotilla,” the party said, adding that “the flotilla is a peaceful humanitarian mission carrying food and aid to Gaza.”
A pre-recorded video of Andrews was posted alongside the statement.
“If you’re watching this, it means I’ve been kidnapped by the Israeli occupied forces against my will,” he says in the video. “Our humanitarian mission was non-violent and abiding by international law. Please tell my government to demand my immediate release.”
In a social media post on Wednesday night, Andrews said that there was an “Israeli warship directly off my boat, the Spectre.”
“Boarding is imminent and this will likely be my last post before I am kidnapped,” he wrote.
Israel says it has halted almost all vessels trying to reach Gaza
Israel’s foreign ministry has said that it has halted all but one of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) vessels trying to reach Gaza.
“None of the Hamas-Sumud provocation yachts has succeeded in its attempt to enter an active combat zone or breach the lawful naval blockade,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
“One last vessel of this provocation remains at a distance. If it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented,” it said.
The GSF did not immediately comment on the Israeli foreign ministry’s claims. A flotilla tracker on its website is no longer online.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Why Trump’s pledge to defend Qatar is so extraordinary
President Donald Trump has bestowed upon the nation of Qatar a remarkable security guarantee that could include coming to its defense militarily.
In an executive order dated earlier this week, Trump declared that the United States will regard any attack on Qatar’s territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure “as a threat to the peace and security of the United States” itself.
And perhaps most crucially, the order suggests the US might come to Qatar’s defense militarily.
This is an extraordinary development in Trump’s controversial relations with the Middle East, for several reasons.
Read more on Trump’s pledge to Qatar here.
Gazans watching flotilla news "moment by moment"
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have been closely watching news about aid ships in the Gaza Sumud Flotilla, seeing them as a message of global support even if they never reach the enclave.
Zakaria Baker, a displaced Palestinian working as a coordinator for the fishermen’s committees in Gaza, told CNN that he is following the flotilla “moment by moment” and regularly communicating with people at the port of Gaza, should any of the boats appear.
This “is a victory for Palestinian rights and the largest act of solidarity carried out by supporters of the Palestinian people,” Baker said, adding that the messages sent by the flotilla are strong even if they do not reach the Gaza Strip.
Mohamed Al-Garo, a resident of Gaza City, said the flotillas are “an attempt to break the siege” on the enclave, “carrying a symbolic message” for the Palestinian cause.
For Al-Garo the flotillas are “a result of the failure of all political and diplomatic efforts to stop the war.”
Many of vessels in the flotilla, including one carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have been intercepted by Israeli forces, and the activists on board are expected to be deported.
Mandela grandson on board flotilla intercepted by Israel
A grandson of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was among those traveling with the flotilla intercepted by Israel en route to Gaza.
“My name is Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, I’m a citizen of the Republic of South Africa” he said in pre-recorded footage released Thursday morning by South African state media, SABC.
Mandela added, “I call on you to request our government to exert pressure for my immediate release.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the interception “another grave offense by Israel” against “global solidarity and sentiment that is aimed at relieving suffering in Gaza and advancing peace in the region,” in a statement Thursday.
He called on Israel “to immediately release the South Africans abducted in international waters, and to release other nationals who have tried to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid.”
South Africa has been one of Israel’s fiercest international critics, bringing a landmark genocide case to the International Court of Justice.
"I have been abducted," Thunberg says in pre-recorded video
A pre-recorded video by the climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was onboard the flotilla and detained on Wednesday evening, has been published following her detention by the Israeli military.
“If you are watching this video, I have been abducted and taken against my will by Israeli forces,” Thunberg says in the video.
“Our humanitarian mission was nonviolent and abiding by international law,” she continues. “Please tell my government to demand my and the others’ immediate release.”
Gaza "worsening hour by hour" as flotilla continues passage
There have been fresh warnings over the deteriorating situation in Gaza, where Israel is attempting to capture Gaza City, the enclave’s largest.
Here are some of the key developments:
“Last opportunity”: Israel’s defense minister issued a “last opportunity” for Palestinians to move south. “Those who remain in Gaza will be (considered) terrorists and terror supporters,” Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday.
Hamas said Katz’ comments represent a “glaring embodiment of arrogance.”
Key route closed: Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that Al-Rashid Street, the main coastal highway in Gaza, will be closed to traffic from the south starting at noon, tightening the siege of Gaza City.
Israel’s assault on the city forced more Palestinians to flee packing their belongings in cars and donkey carts to head south, away from the worst of the Israeli offensive and towards what Israel said were humanitarian zones in central and southern Gaza.
Red Cross: The Red Cross has suspended operations in Gaza City, putting even more pressure on the few strained healthcare facilities that are still able to function in Gaza City.
The Red Cross said the suspension was temporary and that its teams had stayed as own as they could “to protect and support the most vulnerable people” and to help “the few remaining hospitals and health-care” centers amid a surge of weapon-wounded patients. Doctors Without Borders suspended their operations in Gaza City last week.
4 of the flotilla's ships appear to still be sailing, tracker shows
Of the 44 vessels that set sail as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, only four appear to still be sailing, a tracker on the flotilla’s website showed as of 12:15 p.m. local time Thursday (5:15 a.m. ET).
Of those four vessels, two - the Shireen and the Summertime-Jong - are labeled as being legal support boats.
The remaining two boats are called the Mikeno and the Marinette. At 11:21 a.m. local time (4:21 a.m. ET), the Mikeno appeared to be approaching Gaza’s coast.
Around 40 minutes later, the Marinette also appeared to still be sailing, though it appeared to be further offshore and parallel to the coast of Egypt.
Interception of flotilla sparks global backlash
The interception of the flotilla on Wednesday has sparked global outcry.
Italy: Protesters took to the streets in cities including Rome, Pisa, Florence, and Turin, and a major Italian labor union has called for a national general strike on Friday, across public and private sectors, in solidarity with the flotilla and the people of Gaza.
Turkey: The foreign ministry called the move an “act of terrorism” as protests broke out in Istanbul.
Colombia: President Gustavo Petro called the interception an “international crime” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, calling it “a peace plan with people already dead from starvation.”
Britain: The foreign office said it expects the situation to be resolved safely. “The aid carried by the flotilla should be turned over to humanitarian organisations on the ground to be delivered safely into Gaza,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
Pakistan: “This barbarity must end,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. “Peace must be given a chance and humanitarian aid must reach those in need.”
Israeli military halts Gaza flotilla vessels. Here's what we know
Vessels sailing as part of an international flotilla were intercepted by Israeli forces on Wednesday evening as they were attempting to sail towards Gaza and deliver aid, activists said.
At least 500 participants from dozens of countries set sail with the goal of delivering food, water and medicine to the people of Gaza, as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) according to the organizers. Israel has made it clear that it does not want this to happen.
We’ll be bringing you the latest on the flotilla and rounding up the rest of teh news from the Middle East.
Here’s what we know about the interception:
- Ships intercepted: Israel’s interception of the GSF’s boats began on Wednesday evening, the organization said. The GSF labeled the interception “an illegal attack” on humanitarians, while Israel said the activists onboard were “not interested in aid, but in provocation.”
- Few ships still sailing: As of 12 p.m. local time Thursday (5 a.m. ET), only four of the GSF’s 44 vessels were still sailing, with the rest either intercepted or assumed intercepted, according to GSF’s tracker.
- Approaching Gaza: One of the flotilla’s vessels - the Mikeno - appeared to be getting close to Gaza’s coast on Thursday morning, the GSF’s tracker showed. Israel’s foreign ministry previously said that by approaching the enclave, the GSF is “violating a lawful naval blockade.”
- International response: There has been international condemnation of the interception. Protesters gathered to demonstrate against the interception on Wednesday evening, in countries including Italy, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, and Argentina.
- Thunberg detained: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was one of those aboard the fleet. The Israeli foreign ministry said Wednesday that “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy” in a post on X after her detention.
- What happens next: While the GSF is determined to reach Gaza, Israel appears to be equally intent on ensuring this doesn’t happen. GSF activists who have been detained will be brought to Israel and then deported, the country’s foreign ministry said.
