Israel will send dozens of activists detained by its military in Mediterranean international waters on Thursday to Greece, the country has confirmed.
Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement earlier that around 175 activists had been removed from more than 20 boats bound for Gaza carrying aid to the beleaguered territory.
The statement included a video of the activists aboard an Israeli navy ship.
The flotilla was the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break Israel's blockade on Gaza.
The activist organisers had announced shortly beforehand that their boats were surrounded by Israeli military ships while off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.
They dispute Israel's numbers, saying the army had "kidnapped" 211 activists, including a Paris city councillor.
The flotilla set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.
Australians onboard
14 Australians are thought to be aboard the flotilla, according to a spokesperson for the group, with only two of them remaining in communication.
Alexa Stewart told reporters on Thursday that Jews Against the Occupation member Anny Mokotow and Brisbane resident Sam Watson were still sailing to Gaza after the rest of the group had been detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Zack Schofield, Ethan Floyd, Neve O’Connor, Bianca Webb-Pullman, Surya McEwen and Cameron Tribe are all alleged by Stewart to have been detained by the IDF.
Greens leader Larissa Waters called the incident "yet another shocking breach of international law by Israel".
"Foreign Minister Penny Wong must back the brave flotilla crew and fight for their release," she wrote on social media.
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC that Australian diplomats were ready to offer consular assistance to those who had been detained, but that the "ability to provide support in Israel and Palestine is limited at this time due to the conflict in the Middle East".
"We continue to urge Australians not to join others seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade, as they are putting themselves and others at risk of injury, death, arrest or deportation," the spokesperson said.
"We encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels.
"Australia has been part of the international call on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, including to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale.
"With a ceasefire in Gaza in place, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian aid must flow to those in desperate need."
Boats still en route
In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean towards 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.
The organisers of the latest flotilla announced early on Thursday that their boats had been surrounded by Israeli military ships while off the coast of Crete.
"Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as 'Israel', pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees," said the Global Sumud Flotilla.
AFP verified, based on tracking data from the organisers, that the boats were intercepted in the Greek exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Around 30 boats from the flotilla are still en route, most now in Greek territorial waters south of Crete, according to the same source.
Coron said the operation had taken place more than 1,000 kilometres from the Gaza Strip. The next furthest such operation to date had been 185 kilometres away in June 2025, she said.
Israel's foreign ministry said "condoms and drugs" were found on the boats and published a video of activists "enjoying themselves" doing cartwheels aboard an Israeli vessel.
Activist Scola said her ship had been carrying school supplies and food.
The flotilla comprising more than 50 vessels set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.
'Brazen interception'
"Due to the large numbers of vessels participating in the flotilla and the risk of escalation, and the need to prevent the breach of a lawful blockade, an early action was required in accordance with international law," Israel's foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said.
But Amnesty International condemned the "brazen interception".
"The Israeli navy crossing hundreds of miles at sea just to ensure civilian boats carrying food, baby formula, and medical supplies don't make it to Palestinians reveals the lengths Israel is prepared to go to in order to maintain its cruel and unlawful 19-year-long blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip," Amnesty's Erika Guevara Rosas, said in a statement.
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 the war in October 2023.
The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
Hamas's October 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures compiled by AFP.
Israeli military operations carried out in retaliation have killed more than 72,000 people in the Palestinian territory, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
A fragile ceasefire was reached last October after two years of devastating conflict.
Around 1.9 million Palestinan people have been displaced and 60 per cent of the population are now without homes, according to the latest UN reports.
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