The international protection organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has accused Israel of abducting journalists who were traveling on an activist ship bound for Gaza that was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on Thursday.
Israeli forces have seized 22 of the 58 boats of the second pro-Palestinian Sumud Flotilla off the Greek island of Crete, detaining 175 people, according to Israeli officials. Organizers. at the same time, he said that 211 activists were “kidnapped.”
The boats sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12 with the intention of violating the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory.
“RSF condemns the Israeli army’s kidnapping of 3 journalists in international waters: Hafedh Mribah (French) & Mahmut Yavuz (Turkish) from Al Jazeera, and Alex Colston (American), a contributor to Zeteo newspaper,” the group wrote on X on Thursday. “The Israeli army is responsible for their security,” RSF has been added.
Israel announced that it had seized control of 21 of 58 ships from a Gaza-bound flotilla, in a piracy operation carried out in international waters about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of occupied Palestine. pic.twitter.com/Gpa6NOxn3Q
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) April 30, 2026
The passengers included Margaret Connolly, a doctor and the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, who told the Journal by telephone on Thursday that the blockade of the boats was in place. “Absolutely illegal.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a frequent critic of Israel, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of violating international maritime law and called on the EU to suspend trade agreements with the country.
Netanyahu thanked the Navy for intercepting the group of planes “Supporters of Hamas.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the flotilla as a “PR Crisis,” and adding that all activists “those who were taken out of the vessels were taken out unharmed” and it would be landed on the shores of Greece.
Israel has seized such flotillas before, including several boats in June 2025, whose passengers included climate activist Greta Thunberg and French politician Rima Hassan.
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