Amnesty International has said Israel’s insistence on stopping the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was heading towards the coast of the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade, is “shameful and inhumane”.
In a post on X on Monday, the organisation said Israel is “once again using military force to stop solidarity activists from delivering aid to the occupied Gaza Strip, all while continuing to commit genocide and inflict immense suffering on Palestinian civilians there.”
It warned, “Israel’s cruel and shameless determination to crush solidarity efforts with Palestinians is aimed at tightening the grip of its unlawful blockade and isolating Gaza from the rest of humanity,” stressing that “cutting off essential supplies to civilians under occupation is a war crime.”
The organisation also said that silence over attacks on peaceful solidarity activists is indefensible.
It expressed serious concern for the safety of activists aboard the flotilla’s vessels, noting that it had previously documented cases of ill-treatment and widespread abuses against activists detained by the Israeli military from ships in the Global Sumud Flotilla during earlier aid missions.
