Israel again obstructs, stops ship carrying aid material to Gaza
b
The Israeli army has stopped a relief aid ship going to Gaza trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. During this, the army has also detained 21 human rights activists and journalists. The pro-Palestine group ‘Freedom Flotilla Coalition’ gave information about this on Sunday. The group said that the Israeli army has seized all the goods including milk, food items and medicine for infant use loaded on the ship.
‘Israeli army used force’
The group operating the ship ‘Handala’ said that the Israeli army ‘stopped the ship by force’ in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza just before midnight on Saturday and cut off its communication network. The group said in a statement, “The entire cargo loaded on the ship was for non-military use, it was to be distributed directly to the population suffering from starvation and medical crisis due to Israel’s illegal blockade.”
What did the Israeli Foreign Ministry say?
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on ‘X’ early Sunday that the navy had stopped the ship and was bringing it to the coast. This is the second ship operated by the group that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering relief aid to Gaza, where food experts have been warning for months about the risk of famine.
Situation is deteriorating in Gaza
The ship has been stopped at a time when Israel is facing international criticism over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. There is growing concern about growing hunger in the region due to Israeli restrictions on relief aid. Adalah, a regional human rights group, said that the stopping of the ship was a violation of international law. It demanded the immediate release of those detained on the ship.
‘The ship did not enter Israeli waters’
Adalah said in a statement, “This ship never entered Israeli waters, nor did it intend to do so. It was heading towards Palestinian territorial waters, as recognised under international law. Israel has no legal right or jurisdiction over the international waters through which the ship was transiting,” it said.
