Israel intercepts the last boat from the Gaza flotilla as Israeli minister mocks the activists

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli forces on Friday intercepted the last boat from an international flotilla trying to break Israel’s sea blockade of war-ravaged Gaza as cities around the world erupted into more protests against Israeli actions in Gaza and the arrests of some 450 activists who were on the boats.

A far-right Israeli minister confronted the detained flotilla activists, mocking their aid initiative and accusing them of supporting “terrorism” in a video that was circulating on Friday.

In Italy, workers and students took to the streets after the country’s largest unions called for a one-day general strike in solidarity with the Palestinians and the flotilla. Hundreds of trains were canceled or delayed, as were several domestic flights, and many private and public schools were closed.

The last boat in the Global Sumud Flotilla, the Marinette, had been trailing behind the rest of the vessels and was still sailing on to the Palestinian territory in the early hours of Friday, a day after the Israeli navy stormed 41 other boats and detained the activists, saying they would be deported.

A livestream from the Marinette showed the moment Israeli troops boarded the vessel.

The flotilla, which was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza, was the largest attempt so far to try and break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s interceptions started on Wednesday night and continued through Thursday as boat by boat was stopped off Gaza’s shore and the activists – including Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers – were detained.

Israeli authorities had warned the Marinette would be stopped too if it continued on its journey.

Among the activists detained were four Italian parliamentarians who were swiftly deported back to Rome on Friday. They were among the first known to have been flown out of Israel.

“We had a very difficult night, now we must bring everyone home,” Marco Croatti, an Italian opposition lawmaker, told journalists after landing in Rome from Tel Aviv.

The interceptions of the flotilla boats and the arrest of the activists sparked demonstrations across continents, from Latin America to Asia.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets again late Thursday and on Friday in Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland and other countries to protest the arrest of the activists and to demand an end to the war in Gaza.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine!” In several places, the protesters stormed railway stations, blocked roads and clashed with police.

In Israel’s southern port of Ashdod, the country’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed visiting the site where activists were being processed ahead of their deportations.

He accused the flotilla participants – who come from more than 40 countries – of supporting “terrorism,” and aboard one of the seized boats, mocked the activists’ aid initiative.

In the footage, the activists are seen sitting cross-legged on the floor while Ben-Kvir stands and delivers his accusations. One person is heard shouting back “Free Palestine” but it was not immediately clear from the footage who that was.

By Friday afternoon, at least four Italian citizens were deported, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X. “Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” the ministry said.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed to Ashdod as Israel on Thursday marked Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, to handle the detentions of the activists. Israel had repeatedly criticized the flotilla and accused some members of links to Hamas, while providing little evidence. Activists have strongly rejected the accusations.

One of the flotilla boats that had been sailing at the back of the convoy – and turned back to avoid an Israeli interception – returned to Cyprus’ Larnaca port on Thursday evening with 21 people aboard.

The captain of the Summertime Jong, Palestinian Osama Qashoo, 43, said he turned back as his boat’s mission was to just to support the rest of the flotilla.

The activists are “on the right side of history by being on the side of the oppressed people,” he told The Associated Press.

Malaysian activist Nadi Al-Nuri, who was also aboard the Summertime Jong and is on the flotilla’s steering committee, said that while the boats didn’t make it to Gaza and none of their humanitarian aid reached Palestinians, they won’t give up.

“We will do this again and again and until we reach our end,” Al-Nuri said. “And that is to stop the genocide and to liberate Palestine.”

Already, another flotilla of boats with dozens of activists set sail last week from Italy across the Mediterranean Sea. The nine-vessel group made up of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza was still days away from the Palestinian territory, according to the boats’ tracker.

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Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press journalists Giada Zampano in Rome and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Larnaca, Cyprus, contributed to this report.