ISTANBUL

The breakaway Mikeno vessel of the Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla reached Gaza’s territorial waters on Thursday morning.

According to the official flotilla tracker, the vessel has entered Gaza’s territorial waters, however, the tracking signal was lost with the vessel when it was about 9.3 nautical miles from Gaza.

There has been no clear information on whether the vessel has been attacked and towed, evaded the Israeli forces, or if there is an error with the tracker.

Ramazan Tunc, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla Türkiye Delegation, told Anadolu that Mikeno had broken the blockade by entering Gaza's territorial waters.

“This means that the blockade has been broken in practice. I want to share with you the joy of bringing our ship Mikeno into Gaza, which for years, people said could not be broken, and which Israel has blockaded with great force from land and sea,” Tunc said.

He also emphasized that this situation meant that “Israel is a paper tiger,” adding: “Most importantly, we have broken the blockade in our minds. I greet everyone, hoping that the days when we will embrace our brothers and sisters in a free Gaza, in a Gaza where the blockade has been broken, are near.”

Tulay Gokcimen, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla Delegation, also said there had been no attack on Mikeno, but that the activists threw their phones after the Israeli boat approached and that the ship continued on its way because it was small.

Noelia Fernandez, the fleet's Gaza organizer, told the Spanish press that they had received news that Mikeno was approximately 7 miles from the Gaza coast, a little less than an hour away.

Meanwhile, some activists reportedly told various media outlets that Mikeno was attacked by Israeli naval forces after entering Gaza waters, but no information about the attack was shared on the official Sumud Flotilla social media account.

- Global Sumud Flotilla

The Israeli naval forces attacked the international aid flotilla bound for the besieged Gaza Strip and detained 317 activists on board, organizers said on Thursday.

The activists aboard the ships attacked by Israel were of various nationalities, including Spaniards, Italians, Brazilians, Turks, Greeks, Americans, Germans, Swedes, British, and French citizens, and many others.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said through the US social media company X that the detained activists are on their way to Israel's Ashdod Port, from which they will be deported to Europe.

The official flotilla tracker showed that 21 vessels have been attacked by the Israeli forces, with 23 others en route to Gaza.