Thameen Al-Khitan, a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that Israel’s attack on the “Global Steadfastness Flotilla” deepens the “illegal blockade” imposed on the Gaza Strip.
In his written response to Anadolu Agency’s question about the developments, Al-Khitan said, “Israel’s intervention against unarmed civilian vessels heading to Gaza, and in international waters, deepens the illegal blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.”
He emphasized that Israel, as an occupying power, is obligated to provide food and medical supplies to all residents of Gaza by all means.
Al-Khitan noted that Israel must also comply with the International Court of Justice’s January 2024 order to accept and facilitate impartial humanitarian programs provided promptly and without hindrance.
He also called on the Israeli authorities, following their attack on the flotilla, to “fully respect the rights of all detainees and ensure that treatment and detention conditions are fully consistent with international law, in addition to respecting all legal safeguards, including the right to promptly challenge the legality of detention.”
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli Navy launched an attack on the “Steadfastness Flotilla” heading toward the Gaza Strip, and soldiers boarded several ships to seize them.
On Thursday, Israel announced that its military had seized all of the “Steadfastness Flotilla” boats and detained the activists on board, with the exception of one boat, which it said was “far away.”
According to the latest figures, the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza, one of the most prominent supporters and organizers of the flotilla, estimates that Israel seized 41 ships from the flotilla.
Two of the four remaining support ships have withdrawn, and the “Marinette” continues sailing toward Gaza, but remains far away due to technical malfunctions.
The “Mikino” appeared on tracking sites within Palestinian territorial waters, 8 miles from Gaza, but its fate remains unknown.
This is the first time that approximately 50 ships have sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civil society activists from more than 45 countries.
Israel has been blockading the Gaza Strip for 18 years, leaving approximately 1.5 million Palestinians out of a population of approximately 2.4 million homeless after the war of extermination destroyed their homes.
On March 2, it tightened the blockade by closing all crossings into Gaza, preventing any food, medicine, or humanitarian aid, plunging the Strip into famine despite the backlog of aid trucks at its borders.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving 66,225 dead and 168,938 wounded, most of them children and women. A famine has claimed the lives of 455 Palestinians, including 151 children.
