This photograph shows a view of the Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as the boat leaves for Gaza at a port in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy, on July 13, 2025. GIOVANNI ISOLINO / AFP
The Israeli military has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Sunday, July 27.
The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military "violently intercepted" the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication, just before midnight Saturday. Four French citizens, including two elected officials from the radical left La France Insoumise party, were on board the ship. Two Al-Jazeera journalists were also arrested. The boat had left Italy on July 13, six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, which had also been intercepted earlier by Israeli forces.
"All cargo was non-military, civilian and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel’s illegal blockade," the group said in a statement. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X early Sunday that the Navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore.
