[News] Israeli prosecution seeks confiscation of 50 vessels involved in the Sumud Flotilla

[Anti-Imperialist News]

News <https://english.palinfo.com/category/news/>


  Israeli prosecution seeks confiscation of 50 vessels involved in the
  Sumud Flotilla

Monday 10-November-2025

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NAZARETH, (PIC)

The Israeli prosecution has filed an exceptional motion before the Haifa 
Maritime Court requesting the permanent confiscation of 50 foreign 
vessels that took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which attempted to 
break the ongoing Israeli naval blockade on Gaza, according to the 
prosecution’s filing.

In its memo, the prosecution claimed that several of the ships were 
owned or financed by entities linked to Hamas, and that the state was 
therefore invoking provisions of international law allowing the seizure 
of vessels involved in attempts to breach a naval blockade. The 
prosecution asked the court to issue an order authorizing their 
confiscation.

The filing described last October’s flotilla, when the ships entered 
what Israel considers its territorial waters, as “unprecedented” in both 
scale and operational coordination, saying it posed a challenge to the 
Israeli navy because of its coordinated movement patterns resembling a 
naval squadron.

According to the submission, the first group of 41 ships was intercepted 
on Yom Kippur, followed by nine additional vessels in a second wave.

The prosecution also claimed that the humanitarian aid onboard was 
minimal, less than five tons in total, far below the capacity of a 
single truck, alleging that the organizers’ primary aim was to provoke 
media attention rather than deliver meaningful relief.

It further alleged that there was evidence linking Hamas to the 
financing and purchase of several vessels through front companies, 
arguing that this warranted a “firm legal response” to deter any future 
attempts to challenge the blockade by sea. The prosecution also noted 
indications that new coordinated maritime efforts were being organized.

The motion, it said, was not only meant to preserve “maritime security 
and the rule of law,” but also to serve as a deterrent step against what 
Israel described as “coordinated attempts to undermine its sovereignty 
and maritime safety.”

In early October, Israeli naval and commando forces intercepted more 
than 40 vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for 
Gaza, assaulting the participants before transferring hundreds of them 
to Ashdod Port.

Israeli sources said the flotilla participants were later subjected to 
either “voluntary deportation procedures” or forced deportation under 
judicial orders.

For its part, the flotilla’s organizing committee said Israeli naval 
forces violently intercepted the humanitarian ships using water cannons 
and foul water, before cutting off communications and detaining hundreds 
of volunteers from 47 countries aboard military vessels. The committee 
described the assault as “an act of maritime piracy and a blatant 
violation of international law.”

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