What to know about the international flotilla seeking to break Israel's blockade of Gaza

On Wednesday, the Global Sumud Flotilla said two of its vessels were harassed by an Israeli warship overnight, though it stopped short of intercepting them.

Here's what to know about the flotilla.

The flotilla's goal

Organizers say about 50 small vessels with around 500 activists from dozens of countries are taking part in the flotilla, which is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid — mainly food and medicine — for Palestinians in Gaza.

The 23-month war has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the territory that has seen much of it reduced to rubble. The world’s leading authority on the food crisis has declared famine in Gaza's largest city.

Activists hope their actions will focus attention on the plight of Palestinians. They say the flotilla is the largest attempt to date to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted 18 years, long predating the current war.

Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics consider it collective punishment.

The boats' journey

The core vessels set sail from Barcelona, Spain, on Sept. 1, heading east across the Mediterranean Sea, and have been joined by boats from other countries along the way.

The flotilla includes a few motherships that provide support and provisions for the smaller sailboats.

Among the participants is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, as well as Italian and European Parliament lawmakers, among others. Organizers say delegates from 46 countries had committed to participating, with activists including military veterans, doctors, clergy and lawyers.

The bulk of the flotilla was sailing north of Egypt on Wednesday, heading east towards what they call a “high risk zone” where Israeli authorities have stopped previous flotillas.

Drone attacks

Organizers say the participating boats were targeted three times by drones: twice in Tunisia, on Sept. 8 and 9, and once while sailing south of Greece last week.

In that last attack, the flotilla said it was targeted during the night by “unidentified drones and communications jamming.” Activists said “at least 13 explosions” were heard on and around several flotilla boats, while drones or aircraft dropped “unidentified objects” on at least 10 boats.

No casualties were reported but there was damage to the vessels and “widespread obstruction in communications,” it added. Thunberg said attacks would not deter them.

Israel vows to block the boats

Israel has said it has no problem with Italy and Spain sending rescue ships to accompany the flotilla but criticized the aid initiative and accused members of being linked to Hamas, an accusation the activists strongly reject. Israeli authorities warned the boats would not be allowed to reach Gaza.

“The real purpose of this flotilla is provocation and serving Hamas, certainly not humanitarian effort,” Israeli Foreign Ministry official Eden Bar Tal said last week. “Israel will not allow any vessel to enter the active combat zone.”

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that a state only has jurisdiction up to 12 nautical miles (19 kilometers) from its shores. In general, states don’t have the right to seize ships in international waters, though generally armed conflict is an exception to this.

Whether the blockade is militarily justified and the legality of the blockade is a point of contention. Rights groups have long criticized the blockade as unlawful collective punishment against Palestinians.

Spain and Italy are nearby with navy ships

Though Italy and Spain sent the military ships to help with possible rescues, their governments have since urged the flotilla not to breach the Israeli naval blockade. Italy's premier warned the activists on Tuesday that their attempt risks becoming a pretext to destroy the U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for resolving the war in Gaza.

Rome has been working for weeks to find an alternate solution to get the aid to Palestinians, including an offer — rejected by the flotilla organizers — to bring the aid instead to Cyprus and have the Catholic Church deliver it.

The flotilla said that amounted to “sabotage” of their humanitarian mission.

In a statement, the flotilla said the Italian government seeks to "escort us only to the point of danger and then try to peel us away, delivering us back to shore empty-handed, as Israel continues to slaughter and starve the Palestinian people with complete impunity.”

“We say again: the flotilla sails onward,” it added.

The United Nations, the EU and others warn against use of force

The U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan called for an investigation, while the European Union also warned against the use of force. “The freedom of navigation under international law must be upheld,” said Eva Hrncirova, a European Commission spokesperson.

In a post on X, Colombia's president Gustavo Petro on Tuesday demanded “absolute respect for the lives and integrity of the more than 500 civilians and volunteers on board this humanitarian mission,” which includes two Colombian citizens.

It is not the first time activists trying to break Israel's Gaza blockade have come under attack.

Another vessel said it was attacked by drones in May in international waters off Malta. An overland convoy traveling across North Africa also attempted to reach the border but was blocked by security forces aligned with Egypt in eastern Libya.

In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara, a boat participating in an aid flotilla attempting to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American on board were killed. The last time an activist boat succeeded in reaching the strip was in 2008.

The current war

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Israel says its offensive is aimed at pressuring Hamas to surrender and return the remaining 48 hostages, about 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

The Israeli offensive has killed at least 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says around half were women and children.

Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Nicole Winfield in Rome; Sam Metz in Jerusalem; Elena Becatoros and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, and Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Spain, contributed to this report.