Israel intercepts Gaza-bound aid ship Handala

CNN Israeli forces intercepted the Handala a Gaza-bound ship carrying aid and activists within nautical miles of its intended destination on Saturday night The occupation has disabled our cameras and all communication has been lost a spokesperson for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition FFC recounted CNN in a message A YouTube livestream displayed armed personnel boarding the ship while the activists on the deck all wearing life jackets held their hands in the air in surrender One of the helmeted personnel appears to manipulate the camera streaming on the deck turning it around The stream ended soon after that Israel s foreign ministry verified in a comment on X that the Israeli navy has stopped the vessel Navarn from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza using the Handala s original name The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel All passengers are safe the declaration continued Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous unlawful and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts The Handala named for a famous Palestinian cartoon character is part of the FFC which has attempted numerous times to break Israel s blockade on Gaza via sea and deliver aid to Palestinians there Two members of the French and European parliaments are aboard according to FFC as well as Christian Small a US commerce unionist The unarmed boat was carrying life-saving supplies when it was boarded by Israeli forces its passengers abducted and its cargo seized the FFC noted in a comment issued soon after the live stream ended The declaration added that the supplies included baby formula diapers food and medicine A sparse hours before the ship was intercepted the FFC published a declaration saying that the Handala was steering towards Egypt in an effort to avoid being boarded The end of Handala s journey towards Gaza comes a little over a month after another ship from the Freedom Flotilla the Madleen was similarly intercepted on its way to the enclave That ship crewed by a group that included state activist Greta Thunberg was also laden with aid Israeli officials towed their ship to Ashdod and all aboard were deported from Israel afterwards Violation of international maritime law Earlier on Saturday evening crew members on the deck of the Handala were seen donning reflective life jackets after Australian volunteer Tania Safi stated CNN in a voice note the ship was being circled by Israeli Heron drones CNN is unable to verify the claim and has reached out to Israeli administration for comment Everyone here has prepared for almost every manageable scenario that Israel could put us through Safi disclosed on Saturday afternoon If they intercept us it would be a violation of international maritime law The FFC states on their website that the activists and two journalists on the Handala came from numerous countries including Australia the United Kingdom Italy and others Norway s Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated CNN they are aware that a Norwegian citizen was aboard the ship According to the FFC four aboard the Handala are US citizens CNN has reached out to the US State Department for comment On Thursday a State Department spokesperson called the activist aid ship a selfie flotilla dismissing the endeavor as a stunt The latest selfie flotilla should end the stunts the spokesperson noted The real story is the serious people who put their lives on the line to get food and aid to the people of Gaza without it falling into the hands of terrorists The spokesperson added that the State Department has no higher priority than the safety and measure of U S citizens and referred to the leadership of Israel for more information