Israeli forces began today (Monday) by taking control of the terrorist “Global Sumud Flotilla,” which left the port of Marmaris in southern Turkey last weekend, when the operatives raised their hands. This is the third flotilla organized by far-left activists since the beginning of the year, after the two previous attempts were completely thwarted and stopped by IDF naval forces before they could approach the Gaza Strip coast.
The current flotilla consists of about 50 to 60 vessels carrying about 500 extremist activists from 45 different countries around the world. The initiative is being led by the “Global Sumud” coalition of organizations in close cooperation with Turkish terrorist elements, including the IHH organization and the organizers of the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla.
The Foreign Ministry issued an official statement clarifying that this is a violent political action intended to sabotage the peace plan of the US administration led by President Donald Trump, and stated that the Navy has prepared a complex action plan to stop the ships, while preparing specifically for severe and violent physical resistance from the activists on the decks.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a scathing statement on X, in which it attacked the flotilla’s goals and revealed the data behind the entry of ‘aid’ into Gaza: “This is again a provocation for the sake of provocation: what we called a ‘humanitarian aid flotilla’ is not carrying any humanitarian aid. This time, two violent Turkish groups – the Mavi Marmara and the IHH organization, which is declared a terrorist organization – are taking part in this provocation.
“The aim of the operation is to serve Hamas, divert public attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and block progress on President Trump’s peace plan. The Gaza Strip is flooded with aid; since October 2025 alone, more than 1.58 million tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical equipment have entered Gaza. Israel will not allow any violation of the legal naval blockade.”
The IDF Naval Command and the Operations Division have formulated a multi-layered action plan in recent weeks to stop the flotilla far from the country’s shores. The fighters have practiced a variety of scenarios, including the possibility of using great force due to a significantly higher level of violence than that seen in the two previous flotillas that were stopped this year, our correspondent Hillel Bitton-Rosen reported.
The presence of experienced IHH operatives on the decks, combined with the national memory of the Mavi Marmara events in 2010, could motivate terrorist operatives to engage in active and severe physical resistance against the fighters who board the ships, which would require the use of means to disperse demonstrations and quick and determined takeover tactics.
The naval blockade imposed by the State of Israel on the Gaza Strip has been regulated legally and internationally and has been examined by numerous inspection committees, primarily the UN Palmer Commission. The committee determined at the time that the maritime blockade is a legal and legitimate security tool designed to prevent the free flow of weapons, missiles, and advanced weapons into the hands of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, and that the State of Israel has the full right to enforce it even in international waters before the vessels reach the sovereign coastline.
The departure of the third flotilla this year is a persistent attempt by the pro-Hamas axis in Turkey to delegitimize the State of Israel and block the Trump administration’s new political moves in the region. The organizers understand that they have no operational chance of breaching the Navy’s protective wall, but their real goal is to create images of violent clashes in the middle of the sea in order to provoke international condemnation and political pressure on the coalition in Jerusalem.
The precise data indicating the transfer of 1.58 million tons of food and medicine under the supervision of the Peace Council and in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2803 completely undermines the moral argument of the flotilla organizers and presents them as mere political propaganda operatives. The Israeli Navy’s decision to act decisively and aggressively to stop the vessel is intended to make it clear to the Ankara government and Hamas that the status quo of the naval blockade will not change, and that any attempt to challenge Israel’s security sovereignty in the Mediterranean will be met with an overwhelming and immediate military response.
The current terror flotilla, known as the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” is the third attempt since the beginning of 2026 to break the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip. The two previous flotillas organized by the movement’s activists earlier this year were stopped by IDF naval forces at sea, before they could even approach the Gaza coastline. These flotillas are defined by their organizers as attempts to deliver humanitarian aid and break the siege, while the State of Israel sees them as a planned political and operational provocation.