Middle East

Flotilla: 'All boats stopped, 29 Italians detained by Israel'

Israeli forces took control of Gaza-bound boats. According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, the operation is taking place in international waters

18 May 2026

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Blitz delle forze armate di Israele contro una imbarcazione della Flotilla ANSA

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Translated by AI

Versione italiana

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

All the boats of the Gaza Flotilla have been intercepted by the Israeli armed forces. This was confirmed by Maria Elena Delia, Italian spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, adding that there are 29 Italian activists detained. With them also three people who are not Italian but live in Italia. "The last boat to be intercepted was the Karsi-i Sabadab, on which M5s MP Dario Carotenuto, journalist Alessandro Mantovani and activist Ruggero Zeni were travelling". The corvette on which the detained people were taken will arrive in the port of Ashdod in the evening. The Adalah legal team will be waiting for them.

"The Israeli navy ships are firing bullets, the type of which we don't know, we don't know if they are real or made of rubber". The Italian spokeswoman for the Global Sumud Flotilla had earlier said. "Six of the boats were hit. One of them, the Girolama, flies the Italian flag."

Even if the bullets were rubber, he added, 'it is very serious. They are already committing a criminal act, and now they are adding the use of weapons."

Israel: "Non-lethal means used against Flotilla boat, no injuries"

"At no time were shots fired. After repeated warnings, non-lethal means were used against the boat, and not against the protesters, as a warning. No protesters were injured during the incident'. This was reported by the Israeli ministry spokesman, in reference to reports of rubber bullets being used against some Flotilla boats.

Flotilla, le forze israeliane intercettano le navi a largo di Cipro

M5s: 'Lost contact with Carotenuto. Government reacts'

"We lost contact with our colleague Dario Carotenuto when his boat, the Turkish-flagged Kasr Sadabat, was still more than 100 nautical miles from Gaza, and therefore in international waters. The on-board webcams were also off-line, as were those of the other boats intercepted in the last hour by the Israeli armed forces, which threatened the crews with weapons, even firing warning shots. The latest images showed the crew of the Kasr Sadabat wearing life jackets in preparation for boarding. At this point it seems clear that his boat was also stopped by the Israeli military and he too was taken, like nine other Italian citizens taken earlier from other boarded boats. Faced with an Italian parliamentarian illegally kidnapped and now under seizure by a foreign State, the Italian government should have the dignity to react with the utmost firmness and demand the immediate release of our colleague and of all Italians in the hands of Israeli forces'. This was written by the M5S group leaders in the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees, Alessandra Maiorino and Francesco Silvestri.

Smotrich: "Informed about request for a Cpi arrest warrant

The Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, told the press today that he had 'been informed of the request by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) for a secret international arrest warrant against me', which he described as 'anti-Semitic'. The news had been circulating for several days, and has now been confirmed by the admission of Smotrich himself.

"The crude attempt to impose a suicide policy on us in terms of security through sanctions and arrest warrants will not succeed," Smotrich said, quoted by Ynet. "As a sovereign and independent state, we will not accept hypocritical dictates from partisan bodies that repeatedly take sides against the State of Israel.

Yesterday, it was the Middle East Eye that reported on the request for a secret arrest warrant, filed on 2 April, against Smotrich for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in the West Bank. The day before, Israeli media had reported possible arrest warrants against five unidentified senior Israeli officials. Inaccurate news, wrote the Mee, according to which the Court had only last week evaluated the evidence available for two other possible requests for arrest warrants, including one for the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.

Regarding Smotrich, the Mee learnt that the charges brought against the Israeli far-right figure include forced displacement as a crime against humanity and a war crime, forced relocation of the Israeli population as a war crime, and persecution and apartheid as crimes against humanity. If approved by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the IPC, the arrest warrant for Smotrich would be the first ever issued by an international court for the crime of apartheid.

Responding to the news of a request for an arrest warrant against him at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), described as 'a declaration of war', the Israeli finance minister announced that he would sign an evacuation order for the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem

Global Sumud Flotilla, Israele arresta 100 attivisti, 12 sono italiani

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Tajani: We call for the immediate release of the Italians from the Flotilla

"We have been following the matter since tonight with our embassy in Tel Aviv, with our consulate, with the Italian embassy in Cyprus. We have already sent our messages. We are asking and have asked for our fellow citizens to be protected, to be freed as soon as possible, as was the case for the episode a few weeks ago". These were the words of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking about the Flotilla, on the sidelines of a meeting in the prefecture in Modena.

"We have sent a clear message to Israel: they must make sure they respect the rules and international law. Even if Italian citizens are detained, they must always be treated with the utmost respect for the dignity of the person,' said Tajani, commenting on the new Israeli attack on the Flotilla ships.

Madrid summons Israel diplomats for release of Flotilla activists

"From the information I have, the Flotilla consists of 54 boats and about 500 activists of 35 nationalities. I don't know the exact number of Spaniards, but it would be around 45. A dozen activists are being held by the Israeli Armed Forces, who have started to intercept them in international waters. What I do know is that Israel has no jurisdiction and no right to detain them, which is why I summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Israeli embassy, to express the strongest condemnation'.

This was stated by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, at a press conference in Madrid with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelaty, in confirming the detention of activists of the Gaza-bound humanitarian mission in international waters off Cyprus by Israeli forces. "This is a clear new violation of international law just 15 days after the previous interception," Albares noted. "I condemn this action: no Israeli agent has any jurisdiction in those waters," he insisted, informing that he had once again summoned the highest-ranking diplomat present in Madrid, Chargé d'affaires Dana Erlich, to express "the strongest protest" and demand "the immediate release of the activists". Israel and Spain withdrew their respective ambassadors due to diplomatic tensions arising from Madrid's recognition of the State of Palestine in May 2024.

Letter from 49 MEPs to Costa: guarantee diplomatic protection

Forty-nine MEPs wrote a letter to the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, requesting diplomatic protection for those involved in the Flotilla humanitarian mission. The request addressed to Costa is to "do everything possible to ensure respect for international law; protect the activists currently engaged in a peaceful civilian mission, guaranteeing them diplomatic protection and consular assistance; provide the necessary diplomatic guarantees to ensure the security of the mission," reads the letter signed by MEPs from the Green, The Left, S&D and Renew groups. "We therefore ask you," they emphasise, "for a direct and timely commitment to mobilise all the political, diplomatic and protection instruments necessary for the success of the mission and for the security of all those involved".

US sanctions against four people associated with the Gaza Flotilla

The US imposes sanctions against four people associated with the flotilla attempting to reach Gaza. This was announced by the US Treasury. "The pro-terrorist flotilla attempting to reach Gaza is a ridiculous attempt to undermine President Trump's progress towards lasting peace in the region," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

President Ireland: 'Very concerned about detention of my sister and Flotilla activists'

Irish President Catherine Connolly expressed deep concern about the detention of several Irish activists, including her sister Margaret, by the Israeli army following the boarding of the Flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea. "It's very worrying and I'm very concerned for her, as well as her colleagues on board," she said, according to Irish broadcaster RTE, after a video recorded by her sister to be broadcast in the event of the boarding of the boat she was travelling on was released. In the video, Margaret Connolly states that its broadcast implies that she was 'abducted' on her boat 'by the Israeli occupation forces'. "I am very proud to be part of this flotilla, the biggest one so far," she adds. For his part, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin strongly condemned "the interception of the Sumud flotilla's boats in international waters and the detention of the people on board by Israeli military forces", calling for their "immediate release". "The government has expressed to the Israeli authorities its concern for the people detained," he said in a social media post, where he insisted that "these interceptions and detentions are absolutely unacceptable and must stop". "The government will also discuss with European Union (EU) partners how we can ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens," he added.