Gaza flotilla seized by IDF towed to Ashdod, activists taken into custody upon entry

Israeli forces brought Handala, the latest aid flotilla to attempt to breach the IDF blockade of the Gaza Strip, into the port of Ashdod on Sunday, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew.

Activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to breach the naval blockade and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory’s Palestinian residents, but were intercepted late Saturday and taken to Israel.

The Israeli legal rights group Adalah told AFP Sunday that its lawyers were in Ashdod and had demanded to speak to the 21-member international crew, among whom were two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists.

“After 12 hours at sea, following the unlawful interception of the Handala, Israeli authorities confirmed the vessel’s arrival at Ashdod port,” said the group, which campaigns for the rights of Israel’s Arab population.

“The activists aboard the Handala were part of a peaceful civilian mission to break through Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza,” it said.

“The flotilla never entered Israeli territorial waters, nor was it intended to do so; it was headed toward the territorial waters of the State of Palestine, as recognized under international law,” Adalah added. “Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority over the international waters in which the vessel was sailing.”

After several hours of campaigning, Adalah said Sunday afternoon that Israeli authorities allowed lawyers to meet with the detained activists.

“Following persistent demands, Adalah’s lawyers are now meeting with 19 of the detained volunteers at Ashdod Port to provide legal consultation,” the group said. “The remaining two activists, Bob Suberi and Huwaida Arraf, both dual Israeli and US citizens, have been transferred to the police, where an Adalah lawyer is also present to provide legal support.”

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry said the Navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza.

“The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,” it said.

The IDF, in response to an earlier query about the ship, said it was “enforcing the maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip.”

Just before midnight on Saturday, video livestreamed from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza.

The coalition that operates the vessel said the Israeli military “violently intercepted” the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication.

“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 Flotilla group said in a statement.

The Handala‘s crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.

On board were activists from 10 countries, including two French MPs from the left-wing France Unbowed party — Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. There are also European and Arab activists among those detained.

‘Handala’ was illegally boarded by Israel military in international waters, around 40 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

Before interception the 21 crew made this statement: if attacked they will join the global hunger strike for Gaza.

Call your governments now and hold them… pic.twitter.com/QbqUaduXG1

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) July 27, 2025

Also on board were seven US citizens, including a human rights attorney, a Jewish US war veteran and a Jewish-American activist, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, regarding two Italians on board, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sa’ar indicated that if they didn’t agree to leave the country immediately, they would be forcibly repatriated over the next three days, the ministry said.

It was the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza, where food experts have for months warned of the risk of famine. Activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when it was seized by the military in June. In May, the coalition’s civilian aid ship Conscience sustained a drone attack off Malta that disabled the vessel.

The Handala’s interception comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, with concern growing over rising hunger in the territory amid Israeli restrictions on aid.

Past attempts to break the blockade have also failed, most notably the Mavi Marmara incident of 2010, which saw Israeli commandos board a Turkish-led flotilla bound for Gaza. The violence that ensued when those aboard the ship attacked the soldiers resulted in the deaths of 10 activists and left a soldier badly wounded, sparking international condemnation and a severe diplomatic rift between Israel and Turkey.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007 in a violent coup. Israel says it is necessary to limit Hamas’s ability to smuggle in arms with which to attack the Jewish state. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

In recent weeks, as the humanitarian situation has deteriorated severely, the ministry says, dozens of people have died of causes related to malnutrition in Gaza, including at least 22 children. That’s up from 10 children who died from such causes during all five previous months of 2025, according to the ministry.

Israeli authorities have maintained that while the humanitarian situation in Gaza is difficult, there is no widespread famine. On Saturday, they announced new airdrops of aid and “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting starting Sunday, aimed at facilitating the safe delivery of goods by the United Nations.