Jerusalem (AP) – Israeli intervention A Gaza-bound fleet carrying humanitarian assistance Hundreds of activists It raises questions about what any country can legally do to implement blockades in international waters.
As Dozens of boats The Israeli Navy, which sailed near Gaza on Wednesday afternoon, warned them to turn back.
“You’re in an active Warzone. If you’re trying to break the Navy blockade, we’ll stop your ship,” an Israeli Navy member told activists via radio. Israeli soldiers then stormed the ship and seized activists. Greta Samberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson and several European lawmakers.
Israel’s actions sparked criticism from world leaders and human rights groups that Israel violated international maritime law.
This combination of images, released by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shows Greta Samberg, second from the right, with activists from other fleets, after the Israeli Navy intercepted the global Samud fleet carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Humanitarian mission
Activists say their non-violent and civilian mission is legal. They only had symbolic quantities of aid, such as baby formula, food, medical supplies, etc., but their goal is to establish a humanitarian corridor to promote the flow of aid. I was hit by hunger Gaza.
Israeli and European government officials provided alternatives for the fleet to transfer aid to Palestinian territory. Activists refused to cite Israel’s strict control over everything that enters Gaza.
Defending their mission, quoted by flotilla activist and spokesman Tiagoavila Interim International Court of Justice Judgment Israel has ordered that immediate and effective measures be taken to enable the provision of urgently necessary basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the disadvantageous conditions of life facing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“You are not allowed to stop us by international law, therefore we will not follow your requests,” he told the Navy via radio just before it began about 70 nautical miles (130 km) from the coast of Israel and Gaza.
Only one boat crosses the 12 nautical-Mile line (22 kilometres line) marking the territorial waters off Gaza.
On Thursday, October 2, 2025, a Gaza-bound Smood Frotira boat will be escorted to Israel’s Ashdod Port after being intercepted by Israeli Navy soldiers while approaching the Gaza coast. (AP Photo/Leocoria)
Interception in international waters
The United Nations Sea Treaty stipulates that the country’s territory should not exceed 12 voyage miles (19 kilometers) from the coast. Authorities say they could exercise controls of up to 24 nautical miles (45 km) from the land to prevent violations of customs, immigration, financial or sanitation laws.
Robbie Sabel, an international law expert and former legal counsel to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the state generally does not have the right to seize ships in international waters, but he said there are exceptions, including during armed conflicts.
Even before the latest war, Israel had been in an armed conflict with Hamas, Sabel said, which allowed it to intercept a ship suspected of violating Gaza’s long-standing blockade. Rights groups have long criticised the lockdown as illegal punishment for Palestinians.
Controversial Maritime Closure
Yubal Shani, an international law expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that as long as Israel’s Gaza blockade was “militarily justified” to eliminate weapons, Israel can intercept the vessel after advance warning, as long as the ship is intended to destroy it.
The debate over the legality of Israeli lockdown remains a point of competition.
Adara, an Israeli legal rights group representing activists, said in a statement that “peaceful civilian acquiring in international waters constitutes a brave violation of international law.”
Omar Schatz, an expert in Israeli international law who taught at the PO University of Science in Paris and co-submitted previous fleet cases before the Supreme Court of Israel, said that even if the siege in Gaza is legal, “international law paves the roads of Haishaz from the Haishaz.”
“If the basic needs of the population are not provided by the right to occupation, we have the right to provide humanitarian assistance, albeit under certain conditions,” Schatz said. Israel has the right to search on board and verify cargo.
Protesters will waving the Palestinian flag in support of the global Samud Flochira as they arrive at the port of Sidi Boo Sayed in Tunis, Tunisia, on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
Enforcement of International Maritime Law
It is not the first time Israel has stopped and confiscated a humanitarian ship detained towards Gaza. Dozens of boats have tried to reach Palestinian territory in the last 20 years, but no one has reached it since 2008.
In 2010, Israeli commando attacked Mavi Marmara Flotilla I fell into violence. Eight Turkish activists and one Turkish American were killed.
A subsequent UN report acknowledged that “attempts to infiltrate legally imposed naval blockades and the ships and people on board are at risk,” and urged Member States to be aware of the use of force against civilian ships. It called on humanitarian missions to provide assistance through regular channels, saying the country’s naval blockade must “comply with its obligations regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
Enforcement of international maritime law is a challenge all over the world. In general, other states can be taken to court for violations of the United Nations Convention on marine law. However, there are other legal frameworks and mechanisms that individuals can use to seek justice, including those with the state flag being parties. For example, Israel could be considered a crime to force people to be removed from foreign ships in international waters and bring them to Israel, Schatz said.
The Spanish prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press on Thursday that it will gather information on fleet interception as part of its continued efforts to gather evidence of human rights abuses that Israel may present in international courts.
Meanwhile, activists say they will continue to try to break Israeli lockdown at sea.
The second fleet of the second ship formed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens in Gaza is already ongoing after departing Italy last week.
___
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Washington, DC’s Tia Goldenberg and Barcelona’s Joseph Wilson contributed,
