Hundreds of international activists detained after Israel’s raid on the Global Sumud Flotilla have launched an indefinite hunger strike, organizers said Friday, intensifying outrage over the largest seaborne challenge to Israel’s blockade of Gaza in nearly two decades.
The International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza confirmed that detainees began refusing food immediately after capture.
Israeli naval forces stormed the flotilla late Thursday in international waters, seizing nearly all 44 vessels and detaining more than 450 people from more than 50 countries.
Only one yacht, the Marinette, remained at sea.
The flotilla’s stated mission was to deliver symbolic aid and pierce Israel’s 17-year blockade of Gaza, a territory where nearly 2.4 million Palestinians endure shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
