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Israeli naval forces, led by the elite Shayetet 13 commando unit, moved on the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) on Monday, boarding vessels and detaining activists in an operation that was still unfolding as footage emerged from the scene.
The video, captured on the activists' own cameras and shared in their posts, showed Israeli forces stepping onto the decks as detainees were transferred to a larger Israeli Navy vessel and routed toward the port of Ashdod on Israel's coast.
The interception followed a public demand earlier that day from Israel's Foreign Ministry calling on the convoy to change course and turn back immediately. The flotilla did not turn back. The Navy went in.
What makes this story bigger than the boarding itself is the case Israel began building before a single commando hit the water.
The Foreign Ministry framed the convoy not as a humanitarian mission but as a "provocation for the sake of provocation," naming two Turkish groups behind it, Mavi Marmara and IHH, and noting that IHH has been designated as a terrorist organization. The ministry's accusations went further still, tying the flotilla directly to two of the most contested issues currently on the table: Hamas's refusal to disarm, and President Trump's peace plan.
According to Israel, the boats were sent to divert attention from the disarmament question and to obstruct progress on that specific diplomatic effort.