DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladeshi activist and globally acclaimed photographer Shahidul Alam, sailing with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) aboard the Thousand Madleens to Gaza on Wednesday, urged the world to keep supporting Palestine after Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters.

Israeli Navy attacked and seized the vessels early Wednesday about 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) from Gaza, according to flotilla organizers.

In a video posted on the US social media company Facebook before contact was lost, Alam accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza with backing from the US and other Western allies.

“I am Shahidul Alam, a photographer and writer from Bangladesh. If you are seeing this video, we have been intercepted at sea and I have been kidnapped by the occupation forces of Israel, the country conducting genocide in Gaza with active collaboration and assistance of the USA and other western powers,” he said.

“I appeal to all my comrades and friends to continue fighting for the freedom of Palestine.”

Alam is the managing director of Drik, a Dhaka-based independent media organization.

Bangladesh reacts

Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of about 170 million people, does not recognize Israel.

After the flotilla departed last week, interim government head Muhammad Yunus said the country was “closely monitoring” the safety of its nationals aboard, including Alam.

“We stand with Shahidul Alam and with Gaza — now and forever,” Yunus said.

Nine boats seized

The FFC said all nine boats in the Thousand Madleens to Gaza campaign — Abd Elkarim Eid, Alaa Al-Najar, Anas Al-Sharif, Gaza Sunbird, Leïla Khaled, Milad, Soul of My Soul, Um Saad and Conscience — were intercepted and towed to an Israeli port.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that those detained “are expected to be deported promptly.”

The convoy followed an earlier Global Sumud Flotilla, more than 40 boats seized last week by Israeli naval forces while attempting to break Gaza’s blockade. Over 450 activists were detained; most have since been deported, the organizers said.

Blockade and war toll

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years and tightened it further in March by closing border crossings and blocking food and medicine deliveries, worsening famine conditions.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and devastated the enclave. Negotiations to end the war are underway in Egypt, though a “20-point plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump”