A statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla.
“This attack against civilian activists, including Turkish citizens and lawmakers, is a severe violation of international law,” the statement published on the ministry’s website said.
The attacks took place in international waters, roughly 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) from the Palestinian enclave.
According to the tracker of the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla Coalition's (FFC) Thousand Madleens, the Israeli army attacked all nine ships of the mission.
"The Israeli occupation commits a war crime against in international waters. We will not stop ... The genocide must be stopped and the siege broken," the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza said on a social media post.
A press release by the Thousand Madleens to Gaza campaign said that in one hour, all nine boats were attacked by the Israeli army in international waters: Abd Elkarim Eid, Alaa Al-Najar, Anas Al-Sharif, Gaza Sunbird, Leïla Khaled, Milad, Soul of My Soul, Um Saad and Conscience. The vessels and the activists are transferred to an Israeli port, Israel's Foreign Ministry said on X, adding that they "are expected to be deported promptly.”
"We confirm that three vessels, Gaza Sunbird, Alaa Al-Najjar and Anas Al Sharif, have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military at 04:34 a.m., 220 km off the coast of Gaza," the coalition said earlier. A livestream on the coalition’s YouTube channel showed several Israeli soldiers raiding the Gaza Sunbird. The initiative said the "Israeli military has no legal jurisdiction over international waters. Our flotilla poses no harm."
The ships, according to the international mission, carried aid worth over $110,000 in medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies for Gaza's hospitals.
The FFC, established in 2010, has launched dozens of missions aimed at delivering aid and drawing global attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Israel-besieged Gaza Strip.
The ministry said the flotilla merely aimed to break the illegal, inhumane blockade of Gaza and Israel’s intervention in international waters was an “act of piracy by the genocidal Netanyahu government.”
Turkish media outlets had earlier reported that three lawmakers from Turkish opposition parties were aboard the vessels of the flotilla and have not been heard from since Israel’s attack on the flotilla.
The ministry’s statement said Israel escalated tensions in the region and harmed efforts for permanent peace by targeting peaceful methods and advocacy of humanitarian values through acts of violence. “Efforts have been launched for the immediate release of our citizens held by Israel and for their repatriation. The state of other activists is also being monitored in coordination with other countries. Türkiye will continue supporting the Palestinian cause and fighting for the end of the genocide in Gaza,” the statement said.
