ATHENS: Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Crete, disembarked on Friday in the Greek island, an AFP journalist saw.
Escorted by Greek coast guards, around 175 activists, the majority of them nationals of European countries, were taken in four coaches to the port of Atherinolakkos, in the southeast of the island.
As they approached the port, the activists chanted “Free Palestine,” AFP saw.
Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organizers put the number at 211.
The flotilla comprising more than 50 vessels set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain, and Syracuse in Italy.
Its aim, according to the organizers, was to break the blockade of Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
Israel controls all entry points to Gaza. It has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein on Friday said: “All the flotilla activists are now in Greece except Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila.”
Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.
But the United States backed Israeli authorities, calling the flotilla a “stunt” and saying it expects allies to deny port access, docking, departure, and refueling to vessels participating in the flotilla.
A State Department spokesman said Washington was exploring imposing “consequences” on those who support the flotilla.
In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean toward Gaza drew worldwide attention.
The boats in that flotilla were intercepted by Israel off the coasts of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in early October.
Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and then expelled by Israel.
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