Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli naval forces’ seizure on Wednesday evening, 29 April 2026, of several vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla initiative. These ships were carrying food supplies, medicine, and other humanitarian aid while sailing in international waters en headed to the Gaza Strip. The vessels were confiscated, and those on board were reportedly taken according to media sources to the island of Crete.

According to activists aboard the ships, the Israeli navy has, so far, seized approximately 22 vessels out of a total of 69 that were sailing or planned to sail toward the Gaza Strip. Activists Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila have also been arrested for interrogation in Israel.

It is worth noting that this is the second flotilla organized by the Global Sumud Flotilla initiative. The flotilla aims to break the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, which forms part of the ongoing crime of genocide, and to urgently open a maritime humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. The initiative is led by activists and grassroots movements, with participation from sailors, doctors, artists, and solidarity activists from more than fifty countries.

Despite the clear legal obligations imposed on countries under international law, and the issuance of three binding provisional measures by the International Court of Justice in the case of South Africa v. Israel to prevent the crime of genocide, states and international organizations remain unable to take effective measures to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip and bring it to an end. They have also failed to stop the use of starvation as a method of warfare and a tool of genocide, or to compel Israel to lift its illegal blockade imposed on Gaza. In light of the international community’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities, the Global Sumud Flotilla has stepped forward to carry out an urgent humanitarian mission.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights calls on the international community to provide protection for all vessels of the International Sumud Flotilla and their crews, especially following the unlawful interception and seizure of several ships in international waters by Israeli occupion forces. Al Mezan Canter directs this appeal in particular to the countries whose flags the vessels sail under, as they bear legal and moral responsibility to protect their ships and citizens, and to take all necessary measures to ensure the flotilla’s safe and unhindered arrival in the Gaza Strip.

Al Mezan also calls on the international community to take immediate and concrete steps to halt the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, impose a ceasefire, open border crossings, and urgently allow the entry of humanitarian aid in order to protect the lives of innocent civilians.