AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The Israeli military has intercepted about four dozen civilian ships that were trying to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza. The ships were trying to deliver food and aid. Several hundred politicians, journalists and activists were on board, including the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Organizers who are monitoring the flotilla now say that they are out of contact. Joining us now is NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Rome, who's been following this story. Hi, Ruth.
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: OK. So what do we know so far about what happened here?
SHERLOCK: Well, we know that just in the last hours, the Israeli military intercepted the flotillas as they were approaching Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla organizers - they say the Israeli military have boarded at least four of the boats. The activists had been livestreaming this voyage, but now those cameras have gone dark. And instead, there are videos being shared by activists on their social media accounts showing some of them singing free Palestine as the boats are surrounded. And there's footage of an exchange in which an Israeli military personnel warns the flotilla to stop, and the Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, he responds saying, Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
THIAGO AVILA: It's our moral duty to continue sailing. It's our moral duty to refuse any attempt of an occupying force to control humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza.
SHERLOCK: Israel has repeatedly called the flotilla a provocation. It's urged the activists to drop off the aid they have on board at a port in Israel instead of trying to take it to Gaza and has said that it will use every means to stop the boats reaching Gaza.
CHANG: But to be clear, Ruth, this is not the first time a convoy of boats has tried to break Israel's blockade and sail to Gaza, right?
SHERLOCK: No. You are absolutely right. It really isn't the first time, but it is the largest. I mean, this flotilla has more than 45 boats trying to break that naval blockade, and it's also one that's seen the most kind of popular support, I would say. There's this kind of groundswell in many countries. Among the hundreds of people on board, there's not just activists but also lawyers and even members of parliament. I reached one Italian lawmaker. He's called Arturo Scotto. He was on one of the boats, and I spoke with him just hours before they were intercepted.
ARTURO SCOTTO: (Speaking in Italian).
SHERLOCK: He's saying he sees joining the flotilla as his democratic duty. And this kind of touches on the mood in Italy, too. You know, in the last few weeks, there's been protests in dozens of towns and cities and big strikes against Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in support of the flotilla. And just today, another union strike was announced for tomorrow. And the flotilla has been, you know, just sailing for weeks, livestreaming this drama. The boats' organizers saying dozens of Israeli drones have struck them with - sorry - a dozen Israeli drones have struck them with flash-bang grenades and blasted them with Abba music in early attempts to try to stop them.
CHANG: So what do you think is going to happen to all these activists, all these people on board?
SHERLOCK: Well, Israel has indicated that it could just send the activists home rather than arrest them, if they don't put up a fight when their boats are boarded. But these are tense moments. So far, early suggestions are that people - no one's been harmed, but it could still be ongoing. And back in 2020 - sorry - back in 2010, Israel raided another flotilla attempt and killed nine activists on board, and a 10th died later of their injuries. So it can be extremely dangerous.
It's also unclear what will happen to the many tons of aid on board meant for Gaza, if Israel's going to hand that over to the Catholic Church for them to distribute in Gaza, as was proposed earlier. The activists had originally rejected that proposal, saying they wanted to continue to Gaza themselves to break the naval blockade and create a humanitarian corridor there.
CHANG: That is NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Rome. Thank you, Ruth.
SHERLOCK: Thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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