Al-Haq strongly condemns the unlawful interception and seizure of vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla by Israeli naval forces on 30 April 2026 in international waters near the Greek island of Crete, over 1,000 kilometres from Gaza. At least 22 boats with 175 activists from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted in international waters off Crete. The Global Sumud Flotilla reported that “military speedboats, self-identified as ‘[I]srael’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees”.

Israel’s Minister of Defence smeared the international humanitarian activists travelling on the Flotilla stating that the Flotilla was “organized by the Hamas terror organization, in cooperation with additional international organizations and under the guise of a humanitarian aid flotilla”. A statement from the Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that “[t]he driving force behind the flotilla provocation is Hamas - joining hands with professional provocateurs - with the aim of sabotaging President Trump’s peace plan transition to its second phase. . . Due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law”.

The flotilla, composed of activists and human rights defenders, was undertaking a peaceful mission aimed at delivering humanitarian aid and challenging the ongoing siege and blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. As widely affirmed in legal analyses and expert commentary, such flotillas constitute a form of non-violent and humanitarian expression. The detentions evoke serious concerns under international law, particularly regarding the protection of peaceful protest, humanitarian actions, and the treatment of civilians involved in solidarity endeavors, along with Israel’s previous and serious inhumane treatment of Flotilla activists. Al-Haq calls upon Third States and international organisations to urgently ensure the immediate release of all those detained, the safe passage and protection of the crew and vessels of the Flotilla, and to ensure the provision of a safe and effective humanitarian corridor to Gaza.

Israel’s repression of repeated efforts on the part of global humanitarians to travel to Gaza is now a feature of its settler colonial apartheid regime and unlawful occupation. As part of the 18-year blockade and closure of Gaza, and its discriminatory apartheid policies and practices Israel has previously attacked humanitarian vessels approaching Gaza (mostly in international waters) in 2010, 2011, 2015 and in June and October of 2025. All these flotillas were travelling to provide basic supplies to the Palestinian people in Gaza deprived of elements essential to its survival. Since October 2023, the situation has deteriorated following Israel’s genocidal military onslaught on Gaza, total siege, and infliction of famine conditions to starve and destroy the Palestinian population. Israel’s ongoing genocidal conduct in Gaza is being facilitated by its killings of journalists and attacks on media, through physical and administrative attacks on UN organs including UNRWA, and restrictions on the capacity of humanitarian organisations to operate effectively.

As was confirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 2024 Advisory Opinion, Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, and as such Israel is obliged to withdraw unconditionally and as ‘rapidly as possible’ from the whole of the occupied territory, including from the Gaza Strip and from Palestine’s maritime zones. At the core of the Court’s reasoning was the fact that the occupation constitutes an egregious violation of the Palestinian right to self-determination. Israel, therefore has no legal authority to restrict access to Palestine, since such authority is within the exclusive right of the Palestinian people.

All states have the legal obligation to support and assist the Palestinian people in the realization of its right to self-determination, as all states have the legal obligation to enforce respect for the Geneva Conventions, and to enforce respect for the Convention Against Genocide. It is precisely because of the failure and complicity of the international community to hold Israel to account for its ongoing violations that initiatives such as the flotillas are required. The unlawful detention of flotilla participants appears to engage violations of fundamental rights, including the rights to liberty and security of person, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly, as enshrined in instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.1

Moreover, the broader context is critical as the continued blockade imposed on Gaza, a prohibited act of collective punishment in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), is unlawful under international law.2 Ongoing restrictions on humanitarian access, coupled with the violence of the Israeli occupation forces, demand an urgent international response, and civilian-led humanitarian initiatives must be assessed in light of these realities. Israel has continuously closed Palestinian borders, blocked relief, and prohibited access to Palestinian waters in violation of its obligations as an Occupying Power and in defiance of the UN Security Council and the Advisory Opinion of International Court of Justice of 22 October 2025.

We note that international law, including the principles outlined in United Nations human rights mechanisms, affirms the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and humanitarian assistance. The interception of vessels and subsequent arrests must be assessed against these standards, including obligations related to the law of the sea, human rights law, and the protection of civilians.3 Isolating Palestinians, forcing them into dependence and subjection under Israeli colonial domination and apartheid, has been a central function of Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza since 2007, and is a policy whose toleration by the international community has facilitated the ongoing genocide. As people of conscience seek to demonstrate solidarity with and to provide vital support for the Palestinians of Gaza, we again reiterate that Third States must urgently ensure both that they are protected from the illegal violence of the State of Israel, and that Israel is forced to cease its genocide and withdraw from all occupied territory, and dismantle in full its apartheid regime, on both sides of the Green Line.

Silencing solidarity will not alleviate the suffering in Gaza; on the contrary, it further entrenches impunity and undermines the fundamental principles of international law. States must act decisively to protect, not punish, those who stand in defence of human dignity.

In light of the above, Al-Haq calls for:

• The immediate and unconditional release of all detained flotilla members;

• Full transparency regarding the legal basis for their interception and detention;

• Guarantees for their humane treatment and access to legal counsel;

• An independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the interception and detentions;

• An end to all measures that unlawfully restrict humanitarian access to Gaza;

• Urgent action to stop the systematic destruction of life in Gaza;

• Al-Haq reminds Third States of the orders of the International Court of Justice in three separate sets of Provisional Measures Orders, to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza at scale, in order to prevent irreparable harm to the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention;

• Calls on Third States to apply a full two-way arms embargo, and political and economic sanctions on Israel, pursuant to the ICJ’s 2024 Advisory Opinion, along with Israel’s unseating from the United Nations General Assembly for its protracted aggravated breaches of the United Nations Charter;

• Calls on Third States to apply universal jurisdiction and ensure full accountability for criminal acts of Israeli perpetrators against Palestinians in Gaza, and human rights defenders from the Flotilla persecuted in Israeli detention.