87 Activists Abducted from Al-Sumud Go on Hunger Strike in Israeli Prisons
The Global Resilience Flotilla's Crisis Operations Room announced in a statement that the Israeli army intervened illegally against all the ships of the flotilla in international waters, and that the last ship that was intervened was the ship of "Lina Nabulsi", a Palestinian student who was killed by the Israeli occupation forces despite wearing school uniforms.
The statement explained that the fleet consists of a total of 50 ships and includes 428 activists from 44 countries, including 78 Turkish participants on board the ships.
The flotilla also announced that more than 87 activists have gone on hunger strike to protest their abduction by Israel and in solidarity with 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
For the second time in three weeks, the Israeli army, which claims to be the "most moral army," kidnapped our comrades from international waters, the flotilla said in a post on its account on the American company "X" platform, adding that "in protest against this illegal abduction, and in solidarity with the more than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, at least 87 participants have declared a hunger strike."
He called on the Global Resilience Flotilla to release all those detained by the Israeli authorities, calling on governments to condemn this act of piracy and to work to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, and to release all those abducted from the Steadfastness Flotilla, as well as all Palestinian prisoners.
Israel admits its crime
Late on Tuesday evening, Israel's Foreign Ministry acknowledged in a statement that it had kidnapped all the 430 activists of the Global Resilience Flotilla and escaped them to its ships.
"All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli ships and are on their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives," it added.
With the participation of 54 boats, the flotilla set sail on Thursday from the Turkish city of Marmaris in a new attempt to break the Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.
On Monday morning, the Israeli army began seizing boats from the flotilla and arresting a number of its participants, which was met with a wave of widespread condemnation, including Amnesty International, which described the move as a "shameful and inhumane" act.
On April 29, the Israeli army launched an illegal attack in international waters off the island of Crete, targeting boats belonging to the flotilla, which included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.
At the time, Israel seized 21 boats with about 175 activists on board, while the rest of the boats continued their journey towards Greek territorial waters.
Later in international waters, Israeli forces released the activists, with the exception of two Spaniards and a Brazilian, whom they took to Israel before deporting them.
UN comments on Israel's piracy of the fleet
The United Nations has expressed grave concern over the Israeli military's attack on the Global Resilience Flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid.
This came in the words of the spokesman of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, during a press conference on Tuesday.
He said the UN was "deeply concerned" about the safety of all those on board the fleet's ships, stressing the need to protect them and ensure their security, and respect international law on the high seas.
"We are concerned about the situation, very concerned about the safety of everyone on board, they must be protected and secured, and international law on the high seas must be respected," he added.
He said the UN did not yet have all the details of the attack, but noted that it "does not appear to have been carried out in full respect of international law".
10 Boats Surviving Israeli Piracy
The International Committee to Break the Blockade said 10 boats participating in the Global Resilience Flotilla continued to sail towards the Gaza Strip after surviving attacks by Israeli naval forces, while one of them was less than 100 nautical miles from the Strip.
In a statement on Tuesday (May 19th), the ICRC said that "the Acre vessel as part of the Global Resilience Fleet continues to sail and is no longer less than 100 nautical miles from the shores of Gaza."
Some 2.4 million Palestinians, including nearly 1.5 million displaced, are living in catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, exacerbated by the two-year war, which has resulted in more than 72,000 deaths and more than 172,000 injuries, mostly children and women, in addition to an unprecedented famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Despite the ceasefire agreement announced since October 10, 2025, Israel continues its operations by restricting the entry of humanitarian aid and carrying out daily shelling, which resulted in the death of 877 Palestinians and the wounding of 2,602 others, according to local data.