ISTANBUL 

Palestine denounced on Thursday the Israeli attacks that targeted a global Gaza-bound aid convoy in international waters.

“The State of Palestine condemns Israel’s attack and aggression against the Global Sumud Flotilla, in violation of international law and norms, including the Convention on the Law of the Sea, other humanitarian principles, and the human rights of the participants on board,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

The ministry expressed Palestine’s grave concern about the safety of the over 470 participants, holding Israel “responsible for their security and well-being as they deliver humanitarian aid to a besieged, starved, and bombed population under genocide.

The statement reiterated that the global humanitarian mission is a peaceful and civilian-led initiative and has the right of free passage in international waters.

Israel “has no authority nor sovereignty over Palestine’s territorial waters, as it extends from the Gaza Strip, and over international waters,” the ministry said, underlining the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) declaration of Israeli occupation as illegal.

Palestine called on the international community to provide protection for “the courageous participants” of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Israeli naval forces attacked 21 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla since late Wednesday and detained at least 317 activists aboard, according to the official flotilla tracker.

The detained activists are being transported to Israel’s Ashdod Port, from which they will be deported to Europe, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail several days ago to break the Israeli blockade.

This marks the first time in years that dozens of ships have sailed together toward Gaza and managed to approach the enclave this closely, which has been under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years.

Israel tightened the siege further this March 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 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of disease.