The sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly is among the civilian participants illegally detained by Israeli forces after the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in the eastern Mediterranean. Organisers confirmed that 15 Irish citizens, including Margaret Connolly, were on board.
Pakistan and nine other nations issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning the Israeli actions. The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, Maldives, and Spain released the document via the Foreign Office on the social media platform X.
The statement noted that the ministers “condemn in the strongest terms the renewed Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people”.
The joint declaration highlighted past breaking of maritime law by Israelis, stating that the ministers “recall with grave concern the Israeli interventions against previous flotillas in international waters and condemn the continuation of hostile acts targeting civilian vessels and humanitarian activists”.
According to the statement, “such assaults, including attacks against the vessels and the arbitrary detention of activists, constitute blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.
The foreign ministers expressed concern for the safety of the participants, calling for “the immediate release of all detained activists, as well as for full respect for their rights and dignity”.
They stated that these actions demonstrated a “continued disregard for international law and freedom of navigation”, and called upon the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities, ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian missions, and take concrete steps to end impunity and ensure accountability for these violations”.
Among the other individuals detained is Saad Edhi, the son of social worker Faisal Edhi and grandson of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi. Indonesian newspaper Republika reported that nine Indonesian nationals, including two journalists, were also part of the detained group.
The ships departed from southern Turkiye on Thursday for a third attempt to deliver aid, following previous interceptions by Israel in international waters.
A prior flotilla attempt occurred last month off Greece, resulting in the expulsion of most activists to Europe, including former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmed.
Israel has maintained control over all entry points into Gaza under a blockade enforced since 2007. Throughout the genocide, the territory has experienced shortages of food, medicine, and essential supplies, with Israel occasionally halting aid deliveries entirely.
Prior to the interception, Israel’s foreign ministry stated on X that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC, praised the interception force. According to a statement from his office, Netanyahu told the commander, “I believe you are doing an extraordinary job … thwarting a malicious scheme designed to break the blockade we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza”.
Netanyahu added that the force carried out the operation “with outstanding success … and certainly with far less fanfare than our enemies had anticipated”.
