ISTANBUL

A large warship was spotted early Wednesday near the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla as its organizers reported a state of high alert at sea.

Contact has been restored with the Alma ship after being lost for a short time, said an Al Jazeera correspondent on board the flotilla.

According to the correspondent, an Israeli vessel came within just five feet of the Alma, the lead ship in the flotilla, and jammed all of its communication systems as well as its engine, rendering them inoperative.

He added that participants on board the Alma threw their phones into the sea in line with established security protocols.

The correspondent later reported that the Israeli vessel had left the area, allowing the flotilla to resume its course toward the shores of the Gaza Strip.

An official flotilla statement said that Israeli naval forces carried out “an intimidatory operation” against the convoy in the early morning.

It said that Alma was “aggressively circled” by an Israeli warship for several minutes, during which onboard communications, including closed-circuit broadcasts, were remotely disabled.

The naval vessel then steered dangerously close to the flotilla ship, forcing its captain to make a sharp evasive maneuver to avoid a frontal collision.

The statement added that the same Israeli vessel later targeted Sirius, another flotilla ship, and engaged in similar harassing maneuvers for an extended period before departing.

“These reckless and intimidatory maneuvers placed participants at serious risk,” the statement said, warning that interfering with the convoy’s passage is unlawful and that any attack or interception “constitutes a war crime.”

Despite the incidents, the flotilla said it continues its course toward Gaza “with determination.”

The flotilla, which is sailing to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, announced that its vessels are now about 121 nautical miles (225 kilometers) from the besieged enclave.

Israel tightened the siege further on March 2 by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.