Israel seizes last flotilla boat, readies to deport hundreds, as more ships set sail for Gaza

The Israeli Navy on Friday intercepted the last of the 42 vessels trying to break the maritime blockade on Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, with the Foreign Ministry saying it had deported four activists so far out of 470 who were detained trying to deliver symbolic humanitarian aid directly to the war-torn Strip.

Meanwhile, a new group of nine vessels banded together to form a new flotilla, trying to succeed where its predecessor failed.

“Procedures are underway to wrap up the Hamas-Sumud provocation and to finalize the deportation of the participants in this sham,” the ministry said. “Already, four Italian citizens have been deported. The rest are in the process of being deported.

“Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” it added.

The ministry also shared photos of Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists who were taken upon their arrival in Israel Thursday night. “All are safe and in good health,” the ministry said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at the Ashdod port to taunt the activists, and also went to the Ketziot security prison to tout the “terrorists’ conditions” in which the activists were detained there, according to videos the far-right minister posted on Instagram.

מילא שהוא השר הכושל ביותר שהיה פה,
אבל כשהוא מאחורי גדודי אבטחה וצמרת המשטרה, הגיבור הגדול בן גביר מתעקש להראות לכל העולם כמה מביך הוא מול משתתפי המשט לעזה לאחר שנעצרו בנמל אשדוד, בהם גם חברי פרלמנט באירופה.

כמובן שבמשרד החוץ זועמים על ההצגה הזאת של הליצן. pic.twitter.com/WaOx23Xf00

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— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) October 3, 2025

He later wrote on X that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making a “mistake” by deporting the activists rather than imprisoning them for months “so that they get used to the smell of the terrorists’ wing” of the prison. Failure to imprison the activists “makes them return again and again and again,” wrote Ben Gvir.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that Foreign Ministry officials were angry at Ben Gvir, and felt the flotilla interception had gone smoothly until he arrived at the port.

Police said earlier that the 470 activists who were detained by the Navy had been processed by law enforcement.

More than 600 police officers, along with prison officials and immigration representatives, were deployed to Ashdod Port to receive the detained activists, police said.

The activists from the dozens of boats underwent a “thorough inspection process,” police said, adding that they were handed over to the Population and Immigration Authority and the Israel Prison Service for further processing before deportation.

The Navy’s interception of the flotilla came after organizers rejected the calls to transfer the small amount of aid they had been carrying with them to Israel or international organizations to be taken to the Strip and distributed.

They vowed, instead, to press on toward Gaza, which has been devastated in the nearly two years of fighting sparked by Hamas’s devastating invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The terror group continues to hold 48 hostages, of whom 20-22 are believed to be alive.

Last Sumud vessel, which lagged behind, is intercepted

The final vessel from the Sumud flotilla, the Marinette, had mechanical issues and lagged behind the main armada of 41 ships.

A livestream Friday showed forces from the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit boarding the Marinette.

The flotilla organizers subsequently confirmed that all its vessels had been intercepted.

Israeli Navy troops board the Marinette vessel, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in the Mediterranean Sea, October 3, 2025 (Global Sumud Flotilla)

Meanwhile, Cypriot authorities said one boat from the flotilla had docked in the country.

The vessel carrying 21 foreigners requested to dock in Larnaca for refueling and humanitarian reasons, a Cyprus government spokesperson said on X.

The spokesperson did not identify the boat or say whether it was among those intercepted by the Israeli Navy.

After registering all the passengers, Cyprus provided for their basic needs and offered consular assistance, he added.

New flotilla, nine ships strong, on its way to Gaza

Another flotilla, however, is now heading toward Gaza, declaring it will also try to break the blockade.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, affiliated with both flotillas as well as previous ones, said the Conscience boat departed Italy on Wednesday with some 100 activists aboard. The group claimed “many of them” are healthcare workers and journalists.

Conscience joined another eight boats that set sail from Italy nearly a week ago.

The nine ships are currently off the coast of the Greek Island of Crete, according to live tracking data.

The ships are expected to be intercepted by the Israeli Navy should they continue to approach Gaza.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since the Hamas terror group seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007 in a violent coup.

Israel said it was necessary to limit Hamas’s ability to smuggle in arms. Critics of the blockade said it amounted to collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza. The war started on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with most of the population displaced.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 66,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it had killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.