{"id":2552,"date":"2025-10-03T03:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T03:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2025-10-03T03:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T03:36:15","slug":"israel-intercepts-gaza-aid-flotilla-arrests-greta-thunberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2552","title":{"rendered":"Israel Intercepts Gaza Aid Flotilla, Arrests Greta Thunberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Israel<\/strong>\u2019s seizure of activists and aid bound for <strong>Gaza<\/strong>, <strong>France<\/strong>\u2019s arrest of crew members aboard an alleged <strong>Russian<\/strong> shadow tanker, and deadly youth-led protests in <strong>Morocco<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3\/>\n<p>The Israeli Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/israel-stops-13-gaza-aid-boats-organisers-say-sparking-international-criticism-2025-10-02\/\">intercepted a flotilla<\/a> of small boats and detained hundreds of activists who were trying to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip early Thursday morning. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IsraelMFA\/status\/1973699335347937479\">Israeli Foreign Ministry<\/a>, the detained activists will be brought ashore to Israel before facing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/gaza-bound-flotilla-activists-will-be-deported-israel-says-f5e68d2c?mod=hp_lead_pos6\">deportation<\/a> to Europe.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/globalsumudflotilla.org\/\">Global Sumud Flotilla<\/a>, composed of at least 40 vessels, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/gaza-israel-palestinians-war-hamas-thunberg-7599488c66456a4f74aed1cadc0cee5d\">launched from Spain<\/a> in late August with roughly 500 participants, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/south-africa-calls-israel-free-gaza-flotilla-activists-including-mandela-2025-10-02\/\">Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela<\/a>, Nelson Mandela\u2019s grandson. The activists aimed to establish a sea corridor for humanitarian aid by breaking through Israel\u2019s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, which it implemented after Hamas seized power in the territory in 2007.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli Foreign Ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IsraelMFA\/status\/1973454164526330102\">said<\/a> on Wednesday that the navy had \u201creached out\u201d to the flotilla \u201cand asked them to change course\u201d before boarding and capturing 39 vessels. None of the ships were able to breach the Israeli blockade, although one, the <em>Mikeno<\/em>, appeared to enter Gaza\u2019s territorial waters, according to the flotilla\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/globalsumudflotilla.org\/tracker\/\">tracking website<\/a>, which listed the ship as \u201cassumed intercepted\u201d at the time of writing. At least one vessel remains uncaptured and \u201cat a distance,\u201d the Israeli Foreign Ministry said, adding that \u201cif it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The flotilla\u2019s organizers took to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DPRyFFpCLsd\/?img_index=2\">social media<\/a> to condemn what they called \u201can illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians,\u201d saying that the majority of the boats were in international waters and outside the scope of Israeli authority. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed. He called Israel\u2019s actions \u201canother grave offence\u201d in a post on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CyrilRamaphosa\/status\/1973671162300289116\">X<\/a>. \u201cThis action also violates an International Court of Justice injunction that humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow unimpeded,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time that a flotilla has attempted to breach Israel\u2019s blockade. In June, 12 activists aboard the <em>Madleen<\/em> ship\u2014including Thunberg\u2014were <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/thunberg-deported-mideast-gaza-israel-7d6868f213dfcf78969f8e3d982788c6\">seized<\/a> in international waters and taken to Israel. All 12 activists, who belonged to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, were eventually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/12\/explainer-how-is-israel-treating-the-eight-flotilla-activists\">deported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has received widespread criticism for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The United \u00a0Nations officially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/22-08-2025-famine-confirmed-for-first-time-in-gaza\">declared<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/22\/famine-gaza-city-ipc-report-israel-hamas-war\/\">famine<\/a> in Gaza in August, and the U.N. Population Fund <a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/occupied-palestinian-territory\/humanitarian-crisis-palestine-unfpa-situation-report-july-august-2025\">reported<\/a> in late September that more than half a million people in the enclave are starving. In March, Israel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unrwa.org\/resources\/reports\/unrwa-situation-report-163-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem\">sealed<\/a> the entire territory off from receiving food and other aid for two and a half months, and nearly 1,400 <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2025\/08\/1165552\">Palestinians<\/a> have been killed at or in the vicinity of aid distribution sites since May 27. According to the U.N. Human Rights Office, most of those were killed by the Israeli military. In September, a U.N. independent commission of inquiry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/hrbodies\/hrcouncil\/sessions-regular\/session60\/advance-version\/a-hrc-60-crp-3.pdf\">declared<\/a> that Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza meets the standards of crimes of genocide.<\/p>\n<p>Although it failed to reach the shores of Gaza, the flotilla highlights the international community\u2019s demands for aid\u2014and peace\u2014in the enclave. During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c70155nked7o\">20-point<\/a> peace plan, which, among other measures, requires that \u201cfull aid\u201d be sent into Gaza by land should Hamas assent to the plan. As the world awaits its response, experts expect that the group will likely demand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/oct\/02\/hamas-likely-to-accept-trump-peace-plan-with-key-revisions-experts-say\">substantial revisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3\/>\n<hr\/>\n<h3\/>\n<p><strong>Yom Kippur attack. <\/strong>On Thursday morning, an assailant drove into a group of people at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, England, and began to stab them before police shot and killed the suspected attacker. The <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/uk-synagogue-stabbing-774d7feee44643f5f9667ec882f284d6\">attack<\/a>, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, left two people dead and three people in serious condition.<\/p>\n<p>U.K. counterterrorism police chief Laurence Taylor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/cx2703lnww4t#player\">described<\/a> the incident as a terrorist attack and said police have made two related arrests. He urged the public to remain vigilant, adding that police across the country are stepping up security at Jewish community centers, including schools and synagogues. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Keir_Starmer\/status\/1973708343714652546\">flew home early<\/a> from a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/01\/europe-drone-wall-russia-incursions-denmark-poland-us-government-shutdown\/\">summit<\/a> of European leaders in Copenhagen to chair a meeting of the government\u2019s emergency committee.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester was home to around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpr.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/attachments\/Jews%20in%20Britain%20in%202021.First%20results%20from%20the%20census.November%202022.Final_.pdf\">28,000<\/a> Jewish people as of the 2021 U.K. census. The attack occurred just days before the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel. Reported cases of both <a href=\"https:\/\/cst.org.uk\/news\/blog\/2025\/02\/12\/antisemitic-incidents-report-2024\">antisemitism<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/tellmamauk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pdf\/TheNewNormofAnti-MuslimHate-TellMAMAReport2025.pdf\">Islamophobia<\/a> have skyrocketed in the United Kingdom since then amid Israel\u2019s war against Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is every Rabbi\u2019s or every Jewish person\u2019s worst nightmare,\u201d Rabbi Jonathan Romain, head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain, told The Associated Press. \u201cNot only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it\u2019s also a time of mass gathering, and the time when the Jewish community, however religious or irreligious, gathers together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shadow fleet.<\/strong> On Wednesday, French military personnel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/french-military-arrests-crew-russian-shadow-fleet-vessel-boracay\/\">arrested<\/a> two crew members aboard the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vesselfinder.com\/vessels\/details\/9332810\"><em>Boracay<\/em><\/a>, a Benin-flagged oil tanker suspected to be part of Russia\u2019s sanction-shirking shadow fleet.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Boracay<\/em>, also known as the <em>Pushpa<\/em> and the <em>Kiwala<\/em>, is sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom. It set sail on Sept. 20 from Primorsk, a Russian port outside of St. Petersburg, and traveled across the Baltic Sea to Denmark before French authorities detained it off the west coast of France this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>At a gathering of European leaders in Denmark, French President Emmanuel Macron <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/france-macron-oil-tanker-russia-64396bc51053e196a49d04cd39c45358\">alluded<\/a> to \u201csome very serious wrongdoings made by this crew.\u201d A French prosecutor\u2019s office said the investigation centers on the crew\u2019s \u201crefusal to cooperate\u201d and \u201cfailure to justify the nationality of the vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russia\u2019s shadow fleet, which could contain up to 1,000 ships, uses old tankers with opaque foreign registrations to dodge sanctions and collect fossil fuel revenues to fund the country\u2019s war in Ukraine. It is a \u201cclosed system where every link\u2014shipowner, manager, insurer, and flag registry\u2014operates outside G-7 jurisdiction,\u201d Petras Katinas wrote for <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/24\/russias-shadow-fleet-sanctions-loophole\/\"><em>Foreign Policy<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the <em>Boracay<\/em> may be responsible for more than toting illicit Russian oil. It was also one of three Russia-linked vessels spotted near Denmark when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c3rvzdq93yro\">unidentified drones<\/a> flew into Danish airspace near military facilities and airports late last month. European leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/02\/russia-shadow-fleet-pushpa-drones\/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">suspect<\/a> Russia to be behind the incursions, though Moscow has denied responsibility for the drones over Denmark. A Kremlin spokesman also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/kremlin-asked-about-french-investigation-into-oil-tanker-talks-provocative-2025-10-01\/\">denied knowledge<\/a> of the vessel, adding that European countries had taken \u201cprovocative actions\u201d against Russia, not the other way around.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Protests turn deadly. <\/strong>Three people were <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/morocco-protests-corruption-8b41a38db7c598e2e1a5b10e86a4d9d3\">killed<\/a> on Wednesday in Leqliaa, Morocco, where youth-led anti-government protests are continuing for the sixth consecutive day as of Thursday. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/2MInteractive\/status\/1973527743934480872\">Moroccan authorities,<\/a> security forces opened fire on armed teenage rioters who were attempting to seize police weapons while storming public buildings. No witnesses have corroborated the government\u2019s account so far.<\/p>\n<p>The protests, which began on Saturday in Morocco\u2019s major cities, were organized by a group called <u>Gen Z 212<\/u> across various social media platforms. The demonstrators oppose the country\u2019s prioritization of investment in the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/2030-world-cup-spain-portugal-south-america-3f400c036694c048b277f0b49796fc4c\">2030 Men\u2019s World Cup<\/a>, which Morocco is co-hosting, over funding for education and health care, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/africa\/article\/morocco-riots-protests-discord-t6kcfjk2j\">chanting<\/a>, \u201cStadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?\u201d By the fourth day, demonstrations had spread to smaller towns across Morocco and turned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/moroccos-youth-protests-turn-violent-fourth-day-2025-09-30\/\">violent<\/a> as protesters threw stones at security forces while looters stormed businesses and set fire to vehicles and a bank.<\/p>\n<p>In a government council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HAOlSrCm5SU\">meeting<\/a> on Thursday, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said the government is ready to engage in dialogue to address these grievances.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3\/>\n<p>Participants at the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/european-leaders-mock-donald-trump-over-armenia-albania-mix-up\/\">discovered another cause<\/a> for pan-European unity: Trump\u2019s geopolitical gaffes. On the sidelines of a meeting on Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama pulled Macron into a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/clashreport\/status\/1973670241877238121\">jovial conversation<\/a> with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. \u201cYou should make an apology,\u201d Rama said, wagging his finger at Macron. \u201cYou didn\u2019t congratulate us on the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rama was referring to Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nexta_tv\/status\/1966513380107169952?s=46\">claim<\/a> on Fox News last month that he solved an \u201cunsolvable\u201d war between Azerbaijan and Albania. (He meant the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/26\/armenia-azerbaijan-peace-agreement-us-russia-turkey-war-south-caucasus\/\">Armenia-Azerbaijan deal<\/a> that he helped broker in August\u2014one of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/23\/nobel-peace-prize-for-department-of-war-president\/\">seven justifications<\/a> he gave for deserving a Nobel Peace Prize.)<\/p>\n<p>Following Rama\u2019s lead, the European leaders took Trump\u2019s boastful miscue in good spirits. Aliyev chuckled at the remark, and Macron patted Rama on the cheek. \u201cI am sorry for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/02\/israel-gaza-aid-flotilla-palestine-greta-thunberg-arrest\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Israel\u2019s seizure of activists and aid bound for Gaza, France\u2019s arrest of crew members aboard an alleged Russian shadow tanker, and deadly youth-led protests in Morocco. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}