Overview
- Israeli naval forces intercepted multiple vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and began transferring hundreds of activists to the port of Ashdod for identification and likely deportation, according to Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
- The convoy comprised more than 40 boats and about 500 volunteers from numerous countries, and organizers reported aggressive maneuvers, communications interference, ramming and water-cannon use; Israel alleged links to Hamas and its national security minister pushed for prolonged detention in maximum-security prisons.
- Spain created a permanent tracking unit and activated consular support for its nationals, while protests erupted in Italian cities and elsewhere; Colombia ordered Israel’s diplomats to leave and initiated steps to exit a bilateral free trade pact, and Turkey condemned the interdiction as a terrorist act.
- Legal dispute intensified over operations in international waters, with some experts citing blockade enforcement during armed conflict and others arguing international law protects a humanitarian sea corridor and bars such seizures far from shore.
- In parallel, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advanced a 20-point proposal featuring an immediate ceasefire, release of hostages within 72 hours, a large prisoner exchange, Hamas disarmament and a transition body led by Trump with Tony Blair, as Hamas said it would study the plan but demanded full Israeli withdrawal.