Greek coast guard vessels approach an Israeli ship carrying activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, off the port of Atherinolakkos, on Crete, Greece, May 1, 2026. STEFANOS RAPANIS/REUTERS
After hours of uncertainty and anxiety, the 176 European citizens who were members of the Global Sumud humanitarian flotilla, which aimed to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, disembarked at dawn on Friday, May 1, at a port near Lassithi, Crete. Of these, 31 wounded were taken to the local health center for first aid, while the other participants gradually returned to their respective countries, the Greek foreign ministry announced on May 1. Two men were unaccounted for: Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, who were arrested and "transferred to Israel for questioning," according to the Israeli foreign ministry.
"Under extremely difficult conditions, the Greek state took on the humanitarian mission of receiving the Global Sumud flotilla participants, with their safety and protection as the sole objective," stressed the ministry, seeking to defuse the controversy sparked by Israeli forces' interception of around 20 vessels from the flotilla in international waters, even though these were located within the Greek search and rescue zone.
