Hands in the air, a crew of a boat belonging to the Sumud Flotilla waits for Israeli settler colonial forces to board the ship and arrest them. Photo: Social video screenshot via Al Jazeera.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The international Global Sumud Flotilla, a convoy of 45 vessels carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in Palestine, has been assaulted by the navy of the Israeli settler entity in international waters in the eastern Mediterranean.
As Zionist forces boarded the vessels this Wednesday, October 1, live broadcasts from the flotilla shared images of the assault globally. Viewers saw the broadcasts silenced one after another as the regime forces took control.
Moments before the interception, the flotilla detected more than 20 unidentified vessels on its radars just three nautical miles ahead. “This could indicate a possible naval blockade,” organizers had warned as the mission proceeded. “But let it be clear: we will not be intimidated by threats, harassment, or attempts to protect Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza.”
The flotilla organizers condemned the lack of effective support from Italian and Spanish military vessels in the area, which they said limited their role to observation. They maintain that this inaction on the parts of the navies makes it easier for the Israeli settler entity to carry out interceptions in international waters and consolidate the illegal blockade against the Palestinian people.
Hours earlier, the flotilla reported it was approximately 90 miles from Gaza, about 12 hours away. Participants reported intimidation attempts during the early morning, when numerous Israeli entity drones flew over the ships and larger vessels performed harassment maneuvers around the humanitarian mission.
In one incident, an Israeli entity warship approached at close range, surrounded one of the flotilla’s boats, and intercepted its communications. This forced the activation of emergency protocols across all ships, with crews on deck ready for a possible interception.
Kawsachun News’ Camila Escalante, participating in the flotilla, reported live about the Israeli settler entity’s assault. “Interception begins,” she wrote on social media as the attack began. “Yasemin Acar confirms that the IOF is surrounding the Alma vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, with over 20 vessels approaching the flotilla. Passengers are following interception protocol.”
IOF has communicated to flotilla over radio saying that attempts to breach the blockade will be stopped and flotilla vessels will be confiscated, undergoing legal procedures. They proceeded with propaganda messages about October 7th. @thiagoavilabr responded upholding mission.
— Camila (@camilapress) October 1, 2025
The Canadian journalist added that “IOF has communicated to flotilla over radio saying that attempts to breach the blockade will be stopped and flotilla vessels will be confiscated, undergoing legal procedures. They proceeded with propaganda messages about October 7th. @thiagoavilabr responded upholding mission.”
The flotilla’s strategy is one of nonviolent resistance, avoiding any action that could be used as a pretext by the Zionist regime to justify the use of force. Organizers stated they would continue sailing in international waters as recognized by international law.
The Global Sumud Flotilla and its Spanish delegation criticized the Spanish government’s decision to withdraw the Furor frigate beyond the “exclusion zone” established by the Israeli entity. “Accepting this threat of assault on a peaceful and humanitarian action as normal means endorsing “Israel’s” impunity and silencing the denunciation of genocide,” they stated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had publicly called on the Israeli settler colonial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to view the flotilla as a threat, but continued to order his navy to deny defence support to the flotilla.
This flotilla is the latest of several launched over recent decades to protest the inhumane conditions in Palestine under the Israeli settler colonial blockade. The current conditions are exacerbated by what many around the world have been consistently calling an undeniable genocide that has taken the lives of more than 60,000 Palestinians, as the Israeli settler regime continues its scorched earth ethnic cleansing.
Venezuelan response
Also on Wednesday, Venezuela condemned in the strongest terms the “act of piracy” carried out by the Israeli settler occupation forces against the Freedom Flotilla.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said this military attack in international waters exposes the criminal nature of the Zionist regime for attacking a peaceful civilian mission intended to deliver 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid to a Palestinian people subjected to hunger and extermination.
“The blockade of humanitarian aid is a deliberate tool of war,” the document states, “the continuation of genocide by other means, seeking to annihilate the population by starvation, to complement its indiscriminate bombings.”
Global Sumud Flotilla Is on the Final Leg of Voyage To Break Gaza Siege
The Venezuelan government reiterated that the only true threat to world peace is Zionism and its allegiant ideologies.
Below, you can read the full unofficial translation of the Venezuelan statement:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and condemns in the strongest possible terms the cowardly act of piracy carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Freedom Flotilla on October 1, 2025.
This military attack in international waters exposes, once again, the criminal nature of the Zionist regime, which attacked a peaceful civilian mission whose sole purpose was to deliver 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people subjected to hunger and extermination.
The blockade of humanitarian aid is a deliberate tool of war, the continuation of genocide by other means, seeking to annihilate the population by starvation to complement its indiscriminate bombings.
It is despicable and grotesque that those perpetrating televised ethnic cleansing dare to label ships laden with food and hope as a “security threat.”
The only real threat to world peace is Zionism, a colonialist and apartheid ideology that systematically violates international law and human decency.
Our unwavering solidarity is with the heroic Palestinian people and the brave men and women who, risking their own safety, keep the flame of humanity alive in the face of Nazi-fascist darkness.
Caracas, October 1, 2025.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AU
