Top Turkish officials harshly condemned Israel on Wednesday after its forces unlawfully intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters as it sailed toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said reports indicated that Israeli “terror forces” had surrounded the flotilla as it neared Gaza’s coast and carried out an intervention.
“Any attack on the ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla is a clear violation of international law and a crime,” Kurtulmuş said.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also denounced the assault, calling it “unlawful and barbaric.”
“Israel’s illegal, barbaric attack on the Sumud Flotilla in international waters is unacceptable. I condemn this assault on the common conscience of humanity,” Yılmaz said.
Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran likewise issued a strong statement, saying: “The attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set out to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, is unacceptable. I strongly condemn it. This intervention will go down as a dark stain in history.”
Duran stressed that the activists and volunteers on board had only one aim: to deliver food, medicine and basic necessities to innocent civilians suffering under Israel’s blockade.
“Israel, which is committing genocide in Gaza, has now added a new crime by attacking peaceful activists in international waters. This action is not only an assault on human dignity but also a blatant violation of international law,” he said, calling on the international community to raise its voice against “this inhumane and unlawful attack.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying international activists including Turkish citizens, departed from Barcelona earlier this month in a bid to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
The incident has drawn comparisons to the deadly 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish aid ship that was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Israeli forces killed 10 Turkish activists during that operation, sparking a deep diplomatic crisis between Türkiye and Israel and drawing widespread international condemnation.
Observers warn the latest attack risks reigniting tensions while once again highlighting Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza, which rights groups and U.N. bodies describe as unlawful collective punishment under international law.
