GENEVA

The Global Sumud Flotilla's Türkiye delegation coordinator denounced Israel’s allegations that the flotilla bound for Gaza carried no aid, calling the claims “black propaganda.”

Israel had said there was “no aid” on the boats attempting to break the blockade.

Huseyin Durmaz told Anadolu that from the outset, the group expected Israel to try to discredit the flotilla through media manipulation.

He said the organizers had invited international observers to inspect the cargo.

“(Israel’s claim) is black propaganda — a slander that the world no longer even takes seriously. (What Israel is doing) is completely an attempt to break the global wave created by people of conscience coming together from so many countries to show this determination. We absolutely reject it.

“Our ships were completely filled with humanitarian aid materials. There wasn’t even a nail clipper — nothing that could be considered military.

"Israel’s move is entirely about undermining the flotilla’s impact, slandering our activists, and conducting smear propaganda. It didn’t work,” he said.

Durmaz also criticized Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who visited Ashdod Port — where Global Sumud Flotilla activists heading to Gaza with aid were being held — and called them “terrorists.”

He said Israel was using slander and manipulation through its terminology.

He also stressed that it was “significant” that Israel — which disregards international law, attacks ships carrying humanitarian aid in international waters, and ignores UN humanitarian aid regulations — labeled activists trying to break the illegal blockade as “terrorists.”

“The world should see this treatment. How can this man be a minister? How can he be an official? The way he treated our activist friends there shows the world that they are acting like a lawless and ruleless bandit state.

“Activists present for humanitarian purposes cannot be treated this way. There is no place for this in law or in humanity. We absolutely reject it. This also shows how bad a state Israel is, and who the real terrorist is,” he said.

Durmaz added that Israel’s treatment, slander, and propaganda were meant to intimidate activists and discourage future humanitarian missions.

“Unless Israel corrects its own actions, stops oppression and genocide, it will never be able to break this awakened global conscience and wave. This only encourages and motivates us to work harder,” he said.

Earlier, Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed in a post on the US-based social media company X that there was no aid on the flotilla’s boats.

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday and detained more than 450 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.

Israel has maintained the blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it all but uninhabitable, with the blockade also pushing Gaza to a state of famine, with medicine and medical supplies in short supply.