IsraelPalestine

Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war in Gaza.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the 20-point plan are due to begin in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

The talks, which come on the eve of the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel that led to the war, have raised hopes that the devastating conflict, which has killed tens of thousands in Gaza, could soon end. But at the same time, there are plenty of potential obstacles to sealing a deal.

Trump has insisted that both sides are on board with his peace framework and has called for the negotiations to “move fast” in reaching an agreement.

Despite the failure of several initiatives to try to end the conflict, including two brief ceasefires that collapsed, the bombardment of Gaza, which has now killed at least 67,160 people, wounded 169,679, and pushed the enclave’s two million or so people towards starvation, Trump said “the first phase should be completed this week”.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said there had been “very positive discussions with Hamas” and other governments over the weekend “to release the Hostages, end the War in Gaza but, more importantly, finally have long sought peace in the Middle East”.

“These talks have been very successful, and proceeding rapidly,” he said. “I am asking everyone to move fast … time is of the essence, or massive bloodshed will follow.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appeared to buoy expectations when he said the release of the 48 Israeli captives held by Hamas – 20 of whom are believed to be alive – could be announced this week.

Under the plan, Hamas would release the captives in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Hamas has also agreed to give up power in Gaza, while Israel has agreed to withdraw its forces from the enclave.

Lacking details

However, numerous issues remain under the proposal, which lacks details.

There is no timescale given for the disarmament of Hamas, while a vague reference to the establishment of a Palestinian state has put many on both sides of the deal on edge.

Meanwhile, with the talks set to commence, Israeli forces have continued their assault in Gaza.

Seven people were killed on Monday morning, including three who were seeking humanitarian aid, according to Al Jazeera sources.

Nour Odeh, reporting for Al Jazeera from the Jordanian capital, Amman, said that, for all Trump’s comments talking up the prospects of the plan, significant obstacles remained.

“There are a lot of details that could potentially derail” the negotiations, she said.

Potential sticking points include Israel’s insistence that it wants all captives released at the same time within 72 hours.

It also wants to retain freedom to pursue Hamas, despite the withdrawal agreement, and insists that its withdrawal lines and timelines have already been set.

“All of these things need to undergo delicate talks,” she said.

Perhaps reflecting such doubts, the Israeli media reported on Monday that the negotiation process would now begin with Hamas representatives speaking with mediators, with Israeli and US representatives not participating until Wednesday.

Trump has demanded that Israel stop bombing Gaza so that the talks can play out, but strikes have continued across the territory.

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Sunday that the military would continue to act for “defensive purposes” and that there was no ceasefire in place.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described two phases that would occur once Hamas accepted Trump’s framework.

First, the Israeli captives would be released by Hamas, and then Israel would pull back in Gaza to the “yellow line”, where its military was positioned in August.

Rubio said Hamas should release captives as soon as they were ready, and that Israel’s bombardment needed to end so they could be released.

Hamas’s future a sticking point

The question of Hamas’s future also looms as a major potential obstacle.

Trump’s plan calls for Gaza’s demilitarisation and rules out any future governing role for Hamas, though it allows its members to remain if they renounce violence and disarm.

Hamas has responded positively to the plan, saying it was ready to negotiate the captives’ release, and form part of a “Palestinian national framework” that would shape Gaza’s future.

However, the prospect of Hamas remaining in any form has enraged Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies. They have threatened to topple the government over the issue.

“Alongside the important goal in and of itself of releasing the hostages, the central goal of the war, which stems from the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas monsters, is that the terrorist organisation Hamas cannot be allowed to remain in existence,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a social media post.

He said he and his party, Otzma Yehudit, had told Netanyahu that they would quit the government if Hamas continued to exist after the captives’ release.

“We will not be part of a national defeat that will bring eternal shame to the world, and that will become a ticking time bomb for the next massacre,” he said.

However, Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, on Sunday offered to lend Netanyahu’s government support to prevent a collapse at the hands of his “extremist and irresponsible partners” while the plan is negotiated.

Hundreds of thousands across Europe and the Middle East marched against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people have poured onto the streets across Europe, demanding an end to Israel’s two-year war on Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and left the enclave on the brink of famine.

The largest protest took place in the Netherlands, where around 250,000 people filled Amsterdam’s Museum Square on Sunday before marching through the city centre. Draped in Palestinian flags and dressed in red, demonstrators demanded that their government take a harder line against Israel and stop arms exports to the occupying power.

“The bloodshed must stop – and that we unfortunately have to stand here because we have such an incredibly weak government that doesn’t dare to draw a red line. That’s why we are here, in the hope that it helps,” said protester Marieke van Zijl, the Associated Press reported.

The protest came less than a month before national elections, adding pressure on Dutch leaders who have long backed Israel. Foreign Minister David van Weel said on Friday that it was “unlikely” the government would approve the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel amid mounting public anger.

Amnesty International, one of the protest organisers, urged European governments to act decisively. “All economic and diplomatic means must be used to increase pressure on Israel,” said spokesperson Marjon Rozema.

‘Gaza is the biggest graveyard of children’

While the Netherlands saw the biggest turnout in Western Europe, Turkiye hosted one of the most striking shows of solidarity.

In Istanbul, vast crowds marched from the Hagia Sophia mosque to the banks of the Golden Horn, where boats decorated with Turkish and Palestinian flags awaited them.

Demonstrators, many fresh from midday prayers at the mosque, called for Muslim unity in confronting Israel’s assault.

In Ankara, protesters waved flags and held banners denouncing Israel’s actions. “This oppression, which began in 1948, has been continuing for two years, turning into genocide,” said Recep Karabal of the Palestine Support Platform in the northern city of Kirikkale.

Support for Palestine runs deep in Turkiye, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as one of Israel’s fiercest critics, accusing Tel Aviv of committing war crimes in Gaza.

On Saturday, Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg”, describing how the Swedish activist was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”.

Similar rallies were held across the region. In Sofia, Bulgarians carried placards reading “Gaza: Starvation is a Weapon of War” and “Gaza is the Biggest Graveyard of Children”. Protester Valya Chalamova said, “Our society – and the world – needs to hear that we stand with the Palestinian people.”

In Morocco’s capital Rabat, crowds burned an Israeli flag and called on their government to reverse its 2020 decision to normalise ties with Israel. Protesters also demanded the release of Moroccan human rights defender Aziz Ghali, detained by Israel after joining the flotilla aiming to break the blockade on Gaza.

Across Spain, smaller rallies followed massive demonstrations in Madrid, Rome, and Barcelona a day earlier, with marchers carrying white bundles symbolising the bodies of Gaza’s children.

Hamas said it had accepted parts of a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, though much of Gaza remains in ruins and under siege.

Israel and Hamas are preparing for indirect negotiations in Egypt, amid hopes for a possible agreement on ending the Gaza war based on Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that its delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, had arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh and would begin the negotiations on Monday “on the mechanisms for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of [Israeli] occupation forces and a prisoner exchange”.

The Israeli delegation, led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, will leave on Monday for the talks, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Netanyahu said on Friday that he was hopeful a deal to release all the remaining captives could be announced this week.

United States President Trump said the talks were advancing quickly. “These talks have been very successful, and proceeding rapidly. The technical teams will again meet Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details,” he said in a social media post on Sunday. “I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST.”

Despite a call from Trump for Israel to pause its Gaza offensive, the Israeli army has continued its bombing campaign. At least 24 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Sunday, sources told Al Jazeera Arabic. Among the victims were four asylum seekers who were shot near an aid distribution centre north of Rafah, the Nasser Medical Complex said.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from the town of az-Zuwayda in central Gaza, said attacks were continuing both in the areas where people have been displaced to and in Gaza City, where the majority of Israeli military assaults and the ground offensive have taken place in recent weeks.

“The Palestinians were hoping for a good night’s sleep, but that didn’t happen,” Mahmoud said.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 2,700 families, comprising more than 8,500 people, have been wiped off the civil registry in two years of conflict. At least 1,015 children under one year old have been killed, along with 1,670 medical staff, 254 journalists, and 140 civil defence rescue workers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the war in Gaza had not yet ended despite the situation being “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released”.

Rubio urged Israel to stop bombing Gaza ahead of the discussions in Egypt. “You can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” he told US broadcaster CBS. “There can’t be a war going on in the middle of it.”

According to Trump’s plan, Hamas would release the remaining captives and Israel would pull back troops in Gaza to the “yellow line”, where it was in August.

Despite the terms of the deal clearly stipulating Israel’s withdrawal, Israeli media quoted Defence Minister Israel Katz, saying that Israel would remain in control of the Strip. “Hamas will be disarmed, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarised, and the [Israeli army] will remain in controlling areas to protect the communities,” he said.

Arab backing for Hamas in negotiations

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement on Sunday, in which they welcomed the steps taken by Hamas on Trump’s Gaza plan, including the release of all Israeli captives and the immediate launch of negotiations on implementation mechanisms.

“The Foreign Ministers also welcomed President Trump’s call on Israel to immediately stop the bombing and to begin implementation of the exchange agreement, and they expressed appreciation for his commitment to establishing peace in the region,” the joint statement said.

They also welcomed Hamas for stating “its readiness to hand over the administration of Gaza to a transitional Palestinian Administrative Committee of independent technocrats”.

Izzat al-Risheq, a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, said the statement marked an “important support” for efforts to end the war. He also welcomed the “clear backing for the Palestinian position in the negotiations, [which] strengthens the chances of reaching a lasting ceasefire agreement”.

“We look forward to further Arab and Islamic support in order to stop the aggression and genocide being inflicted on our people in the Gaza Strip, leading to an end of the occupation and the realisation of our Palestinian people’s aspirations to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” al-Risheq said.

Trump has dispatched two envoys to Egypt, according to the White House, sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his main Middle East negotiator, Steve Witkoff.

The US president has told Hamas that once it agrees to Israel’s initial military withdrawal line in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire would be triggered.

The talks are being held after Hamas agreed to release the Israeli captives and accept some other terms in Trump’s Gaza plan, but questions surround vexing issues, such as Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip and Hamas’s disarmament.

Asked by reporters whether there was any flexibility on his 20-point Gaza plan, Trump suggested on Sunday that some changes would still be possible. “We don’t need flexibility because everybody has pretty much agreed to it. But there’ll always be some changes,” he said.

Hamas and Israel appear to have agreed to most of the conditions of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which means there may be an end in sight to Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

But there is a lot that is not yet agreed upon, including how the withdrawal of Israeli troops will take place; the presence of an Israeli security buffer zone inside Gaza; and what the interim governing authority will look like.

The ultimate question has also not been asked: When will Israel end its illegal occupation of all Palestinian territory?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Andrew Gilmour – Former United Nations assistant secretary-general for human rights

Victor Kattan – Assistant professor in Public International Law at the University of Nottingham and author of the book The Palestine Question in International Law

Simon Mabon – Professor of Middle East and International Politics at Lancaster University and author of The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East

International activists deported from Israel after joining an intercepted Gaza aid flotilla have given further accounts of mistreatment by guards during their detention.

The latest claims made by participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla added to the growing scrutiny of Israel on Sunday for its treatment of the activists.

Some 450 participants in the flotilla were arrested between Wednesday and Friday as Israeli forces intercepted the boats, which were seeking to break a naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Palestinians in the besieged territory.

Speaking at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on his return on Sunday, Italian activist Cesare Tofani said, “We were treated terribly … From the army, we moved on to the police. There was harassment,” ANSA news agency reported.

Yassine Lafram, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, who landed at Milan Malpensa Airport with the activists, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “They even treated us violently, pointing weapons at us, and this is absolutely unacceptable for us in a country that considers itself democratic.”

Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi, who landed at Fiumicino Airport late on Saturday, said Israeli soldiers had withheld medicines and treated the detained activists “like monkeys”, The Associated Press reported.

He said the Israeli guards mocked the detained activists – who included Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers – in order to “demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about”.

Activists targeted with laser sights

Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino said that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis”.

Speaking to AP on his arrival at Turkiye’s Istanbul Airport after being deported from Israel on Saturday, he said he had been repeatedly woken up by guards during the two nights he spent in detention.

He said the detained activists were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us”.

Another activist, Paolo De Montis, reported experiencing “constant stress and humiliation” at the hands of the guards, who kept him in a prison van for hours with his hands secured by zip ties.

“You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head,” he told AP. “They forced us to stay on our knees for four hours.”

Deported activists from the flotilla had earlier spoken out about the mistreatment of Thunberg, one of the highest profile members of the mission, in particular, saying she had been “dragged on the ground”, “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”, and “used as propaganda”.

‘Brazen lies’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave conflicting responses to the activists’ allegations, with the ministry insisting the stories of ill-treatment were “brazen lies”, while Ben-Gvir said he was “proud” of the detainees’ harsh treatment in Ketziot prison.

“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” he said in a statement.

“If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets – they were mistaken,” said Ben-Gvir, who was filmed taunting the activists as they were brought ashore.

“They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.”

By contrast, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that claims of mistreatment of Thunberg and other flotilla activists were “lies”.

“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” the ministry said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody. Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they never occurred.”

Israel’s arrests and treatment of the activists led to criticism from countries including Pakistan, Turkiye and Colombia, and street protests around the world, as well as a written protest from Greece.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the country deported a further 29 flotilla activists on Sunday, but many remain in detention in Israel.

Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public broadcaster RTVE that 21 of the 49 Spanish detained flotilla activists were expected to return home on Sunday; while Greece’s Foreign Ministry said 27 Geek citizens were to return from Israel on Monday.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was created in December 1949, almost two years after the UN voted for the partition of Palestine. It was, and still is, the only UN agency dedicated solely to one dispossessed population — the Palestinians.

In the decades following its creation, UNRWA was engaged in almost all aspects of Palestinian life — from food distribution to healthcare and education to utilities provision. Amid the genocide in Gaza, the agency was sidelined, and its operations were restricted under Israeli pressure.

Now, as a ceasefire is on the horizon, we need UNRWA to fully restore its work and help bring an end to the famine. It is the only organisation that has the capacity to distribute aid fairly and efficiently.

UNRWA has always been part of my family’s life. My parents, my siblings, and I studied in UNRWA’s schools, where we received free education under the supervision of dedicated teachers. We also relied on UNRWA’s food distributions many times, especially when my family experienced financial difficulties. In our childhood, we visited the agency’s clinics regularly for primary healthcare, vaccinations, and basic treatment. This service was always accessible, especially for those who could not afford private care.

After the outbreak of the Israeli genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, UNRWA continued to provide services as best it could. However, Israel, backed by its Western allies, launched a fierce campaign against the agency. In January 2024, the Israeli government claimed that some UNRWA staff members had been involved in the attacks; as a result, 19 employees were investigated, and some were dismissed.

These allegations gave the justification for Western donor countries to suspend their funding to UNRWA, including the United States and European Union member states. That severely impacted UNRWA’s resources at a time when two million people in Gaza almost fully depended on them.

After the ceasefire agreement was announced in January this year, the aid situation began to improve. UNRWA was able to resume aid distribution in an orderly and fair manner.

It had clear schedules and designated aid centres in each neighbourhood. To avoid chaos, each family had to register in advance using their ID number. They would get a message from UNRWA specifying the day and the exact hour they had to collect their parcels. When they arrived at the centre, their information would be checked by staff or volunteers to ensure that no one was skipped or received more than they deserved. Each family would receive a food parcel based on its size. This system gave Palestinians a sense of order in the middle of very difficult conditions.

Unfortunately, this situation did not last. On March 2, Israel blocked aid from entering the Strip, and on March 19, it resumed its genocide. Once again, people had to face displacement and unbearable conditions they thought they would never have to endure.

On April 25, UNRWA announced that its food supplies had run out. Since then, we have been enduring another severe famine. UNRWA, along with many humanitarian agencies, halted their aid operations, leaving over a million people to suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

A month later, the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was created to take over aid distribution as a response to Israeli claims that aid was being stolen by Hamas.

Unlike UNRWA, GHF does not offer an organised system of distribution. Its aid sites are located in dangerous areas, and its process of handing over parcels is chaotic. There are no schedules, no registration, no fair distribution. Every day, a limited number of food parcels are just dumped in a fenced-off area, and people are allowed to rush in and get whatever they can. “Order” is enforced through live fire by Israeli soldiers or foreign mercenaries, who by now have killed more than 2,500 Palestinians seeking aid.

Apart from the deadly aid at GHF, Israel has allowed only a meagre amount of aid to enter Gaza; most of it has been looted before reaching its intended destination. In late July, it started allowing commercial trucks as well. All of the goods they carry go to merchants and are sold at exorbitant prices.

The famine has been relentless.

Every day, I see children in my neighbourhood rushing to get a bit of food from a takyah — a small soup kitchen run by a Palestinian charity. These local organisations usually buy the little food available in the local markets with donations from abroad. The meals are simple — rice, lentils, pasta, or soup. Families who are unable to afford food prices depend entirely on these meals.

Ironically, in August, many of the same countries that had suspended funding to UNRWA called for immediate action to end the famine in Gaza.

“Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,” said a statement signed by the foreign ministers of 19 EU member states, along with Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan.

Yet, by cutting funding to UNRWA and allowing Israel to devastate the agency, these countries deprived more than two million people of their basic right to food

If they are serious about ending the genocide and the starvation, they must restore their support for the very agency that was created to prevent such suffering and force Israel to allow it to fully restore its services.

UNRWA was always a lifeline for the people of Gaza. It was the only agency that gave us a sense of stability and hope in the middle of chaos. For us to survive this genocide and what comes after it, UNRWA would have to be refunded and protected. Allowing Israel to destroy it would be tantamount to allowing Palestinians to be wiped out.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Huge numbers of people have turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory.

Police in Rome said about 250,000 people attended a fourth consecutive day of protests on Saturday after Israel intercepted the 45-boat flotilla trying to reach Gaza last week.

Protesters in the Italian capital, including families with children, shouted: “We are all Palestinians,” “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide” as many carried Palestinian flags and wore black-and-white-chequered keffiyehs.

In Spain, about 70,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona, according to the police, while the government in Madrid reported nearly 92,000 marched in the capital.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted on Wednesday, departed Barcelona in early September and had been seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where a United Nations-backed hunger monitor says famine has taken hold. About 50 Spaniards on the flotilla have been detained by Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public television in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old pensioner demonstrating in Barcelona with a Palestinian flag on her back, said Israel’s policy “has been wrong for many years and we have to take to the streets”.

Elsewhere, several thousand people marched through the centre of Dublin to mark what organisers described as “two years of genocide” in Gaza. Along with Ireland, Spain is among the fiercest European critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

In Ireland, speakers called for sanctions on Israel, an immediate end to the conflict and Palestinian involvement in any ceasefire plan.

In London, police said they made at least 442 arrests at a gathering in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group.

In Paris, where about 10,000 people gathered, a spokesperson for the French contingent of the Sumud Flotilla, Helene Coron, told the crowd: “We’ll never stop.”

“This flotilla didn’t get to Gaza. But we will send another, then another until Palestine and Gaza are free,” she said.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has been criticised for its inaction regarding the siege of Gaza. On Saturday, Meloni accused demonstrators of defacing a statue of Pope John Paul II with graffiti in front of Rome’s main railway station, calling it a “shameful act”.

On September 14, about 100,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in the Spanish capital to be halted because an Israeli team was competing. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be barred from international sport over the war in Gaza, just as Russia has been penalised over its invasion of Ukraine.

In September, Spain announced it would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Talks aim at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, with Israel’s leader expressing hope that the captives still being held there would be released in a matter of days.

Several international activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The 137 deportees landed in Istanbul on Saturday, including 36 Turkish nationals alongside activists from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan and other countries, Turkish officials confirmed.

Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg,” describing how she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag.”

Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi and American participant Windfield Beaver gave similar accounts at Istanbul Airport, alleging Thunberg was shoved and paraded with an Israeli flag.

“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi said, adding that detainees were denied food, clean water, and medication.

Beaver said Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda,” recalling how she was shoved into a room as far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.

Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino, who had been on the flotilla, also cited the treatment of Thunberg.

“Greta Thunberg, a brave woman, is only 22 years old. She was humiliated and wrapped in an Israeli flag and exhibited like a trophy,” he told Anadolu.

Others described severe mistreatment. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. They didn’t give us water; we had to drink from the toilet … It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting.” She said the ordeal gave her “a better understanding of Gaza”.

Turkish activist Aycin Kantoglu recounted bloodstained prison walls and messages scrawled by previous detainees. “We saw mothers writing their children’s names on the walls. We actually experienced a little bit of what Palestinians go through,” she said.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians had been deported, while 15 remained in Israeli custody awaiting expulsion.

Italian MP Arturo Scotto, who was on the flotilla, told reporters, “Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza.”

Adalah, an Israeli rights group providing legal aid, said that detainees reported being forced to kneel with zip-tied hands for hours, denied medication, and blocked from speaking with lawyers. Israel’s foreign ministry dismissed the claims as “complete lies,” insisting all detainees were treated according to law.

“All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told the news agency Reuters.

Israel has faced mounting condemnation for the raid on the flotilla, which saw its navy intercept approximately 40 boats carrying aid to Gaza and detain more than 450 people on board.

Critics say the assault underscores the illegality of Israel’s blockade, which has cut off the enclave’s 2.3 million residents during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

The flotilla, launched in late August, was the latest international effort to break Israel’s siege and deliver aid to Palestinians.

President Trump has released a Gaza “peace” plan that would put Gaza under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”. While some in the international community have welcomed the move, some question the fact that it bypasses Palestinians and offers no path to statehood. So, with Netanyahu pledging not to fully withdraw from Gaza, will this deal bring genuine peace or cement the status quo?

This week on an UpFront special, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with one of the world’s foremost experts on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Norman Finkelstein.

Hamas has submitted its response to United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal, agreeing to free all the Israeli captives it holds, but asking to negotiate other aspects of the 20-point plan.

Trump – who had given the Palestinian group a deadline of Sunday to respond positively to the deal – has reacted by demanding Israel immediately stop bombing Gaza.

Is this finally the end of a war that has dragged on for almost two years, killing more than 66,000 Palestinians? Or are there more pitfalls ahead?

Let’s take a closer look.

How did Hamas respond exactly?

Hamas has said that it has agreed to release all Israeli captives held in Gaza, both dead and alive, “in a manner that achieves” an end to Israel’s war and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

It also said that it would hand over power in Gaza to a body of Palestinian technocrats.

On the rest of Trump’s 20-point plan, which included the disarmament of Hamas, the group said that it should be “discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, in which Hamas will be included and will contribute with full responsibility”.

Has Trump responded positively?

Trump has welcomed the Hamas response, and wrote on his Truth Social site that he believes the Palestinian group are “ready for a lasting PEACE”.

In a major announcement, he also said that “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” so that the captives could be released.

“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” he wrote.

Trump then released a video message reiterating that he considered Hamas’s response a win.

“This is a big day. We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete,” he said. “I just want to let you know that this is a very special day… Everyone was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that.”

What is Israel’s position?

Trump announced his Gaza peace plan on Monday, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

Netanyahu said at the time that he supported Trump’s plan, because – he said – it would achieve Israel’s war aims.

“It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities and its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said.

But the prime minister also had some caveats. In the White House, Netanyahu noted that if Hamas rejected the plan, “or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it”, Israel would “finish the job by itself”.

And a few hours later, speaking in Hebrew to a domestic Israeli audience, Netanyahu said that he had not agreed to a Palestinian state, and promised that the Israeli military would stay in most of Gaza.

What will be the main sticking points?

Hamas has made it clear that it is not willing to accept several aspects of Trump’s plan, including an interim administration led by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“We will never accept anyone who is not Palestinian to control the Palestinians,” Hamas senior official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera, adding that the appointment of Blair was particularly unwelcome because of his past involvement in the invasion of Iraq.

The topic of disarmament will also be problematic. Trump and Netanyahu say the group must immediately lay down its arms, but Hamas has only said that it is willing to discuss the topic.

“Hamas’s statement says that the future of Gaza – the future of the whole struggle – will be left to Palestinian consensus,” said Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem. “They want a broader Palestinian consensus to reach a final answer. So, what’s clear is that Hamas said, ‘Yes – but …’”

Will Israel really stop bombing Gaza?

The Israeli government is likely to be unhappy with Trump’s positive reaction because Hamas has not simply agreed to all its demands. It is already being reported, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, that Netanyahu was “surprised” at Trump’s response, and viewed Hamas’s answer as a “rejection” of the plan.

Netanyahu’s government is dominated by the far-right, who have warned that they will bring down the prime minister if he agrees to a deal that they do not like. For its part, the Israeli opposition has indicated that it supports the deal, but a lack of trust between them and Netanyahu means that a coalition between them will be difficult to achieve.

Much will now come down to how far Trump is willing to twist Netanyahu’s arm and force him to agree to a deal.

“You can imagine the forces gathering here in Washington, DC, right now, attempting to change Donald Trump’s mind,” said Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington.

“All of this now depends on how committed he is and how much pressure the mediators … are putting on him to keep to the terms of this agreement [and] not, as in the past, allow Hamas to live up to the agreement and allow Israel to resume the war again,” Rattansi added.

In the meantime, Israel is continuing to bomb Gaza, with a particular focus on Gaza City. At least 72 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since dawn on Friday, according to medical sources.

US leader tells Israel it ‘must immediately stop’ bombing Gaza, says he believes Hamas is ‘ready for a lasting peace’.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Italy as part of a general strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla that was intercepted by Israel this week while trying to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

More than two million people attended Friday’s protests after the strike was called by a number of trade unions “in defence of the flotilla”, which was carrying a total of 40 Italians, and to “stop the genocide”, the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) wrote on X.

Turin-based daily La Stampa reported that the mobilisation involved the public and private sectors, “halting rail, air, metro, and bus transport, healthcare and schools. Among the many acts of dissent, protesters blocked highways near Pisa, Pescara, Bologna and Milan and shut down access to the port of Livorno, said the newspaper.

Police told the news agency AFP that more than 80,000 people demonstrated in Milan, where a sea of people clapped and waved the Palestinian flag as they made their way through the streets, carrying a massive banner reading: “Free Palestine, Stop the War Machine”.

“This is not just any strike. We’re here today to defend brotherhood among individuals, among peoples, to put humanity back at the centre, to say no to genocide, to a policy of rearmament,” CGIL leader Maurizio Landini was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying.

Reporting from Rome, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic said the turnout across the country included “so many people from various walks of life. You’ve got students, you’ve got retired people, many people with their small children also coming out”.

Major turnout expected in Rome on Saturday

Massive protests are planned for tomorrow in Rome, where the CGIL reported 300,000 participants on Friday, with crowds set to depart from the town square, Piazzale Ostiense, at 2:30pm (12:30 GMT).

“Today, we were hundreds of thousands. Tomorrow for Palestine we must be a million,” said Maya Issa, leader of the Palestinian Student Movement, cited by Rome-based daily La Repubblica.

Andrea Dessi, an assistant professor of international relations and global politics at the American University of Rome, told Al Jazeera that the Italian government had been “caught on its back foot”.

While Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this week announced Italy would recognise a Palestinian state if Israeli captives were freed and Hamas was shut out of future governance, protesters believed Meloni’s support for a Palestinian state should have been unconditional, Dessi said.

“I believe that the pressure will continue to mount,” said Dessi. “We expect a major, major march tomorrow, Saturday, here in Rome, with activists and members, citizens coming to Rome from all of Italy,” he said.

Their demands include the release of remaining Italians from the Sumud Flotilla, unconditional support for a Palestinian state and “more serious sanctions” on Israel over its war on Gaza, he said.

Al Jazeera’s Veselinovic said that Italy’s right-wing government was unlikely to succumb to pressure. “That is probably unlikely to happen, considering that Italy is a major ally of Israel in the European Union. However, in the past few months, the government did adopt a slightly harsher tone towards Israeli officials, specifically because of actions like this protest,” she said.

The Italian government has criticised the strike, with Meloni suggesting that people were using the protests as an excuse to have a longer weekend break.

As the protests took place, Italy’s foreign ministry announced that Israel had released four Italian parliamentarians out of the 40 Italians detained from the flotilla. The two members of parliament and two members of the European Parliament were due to arrive back in Rome on Friday, the ministry said.

Worldwide reaction

Protests in solidarity with the humanitarian convoy, which included prominent figures like climate activist Greta Thunberg and a number of politicians, spread across continents on Thursday, from Europe to Australia and South America.

In Barcelona, where the flotilla began its voyage, about 15,000 demonstrators marched, chanting “Gaza, you are not alone,” “Boycott Israel,” and “Freedom for Palestine”. Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau was among those intercepted at sea and now faces potential deportation along with fellow activists, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson.

The flotilla organisers said on Telegram on Friday that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels – each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”. Marinette, the last remaining boat, was intercepted at 10:29am (07:29 GMT) that morning, they said.

More than 470 flotilla participants were “taken into custody by the military police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the prison administration”, according to Israeli police cited by AFP.

Among those detained from the flotilla were more than 20 journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), including reporters from Al Jazeera, Spain’s El Pais and Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.

Israel’s military applauded its naval forces for intercepting the flotilla, claiming the humanitarian mission attempted to breach its “maritime security blockade”.

“During Yom Kippur, in an operation that lasted approximately 12 hours, Israeli Navy personnel foiled a large-scale incursion attempt by hundreds of individuals aboard 42 naval vessels that declared their intention to break the lawful maritime security blockade adjacent to the Gaza Strip,” the military statement said.

Rights groups, several politicians and the UN’s Francesca Albanese have suggested Israel’s interception of the flotilla’s boats was illegal.

Protests in Israel

In Israel on Friday, protesters blocked a route into Gaza, staging a sit-in demanding that aid seized from the flotilla be allowed to enter the Palestinian territory. Dozens of protesters also tried to stop soldiers from entering the Strip, some carrying banners calling for an end to the genocide and for sanctions to be imposed on Israel.

Reporting from Amman, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said, “These are Israeli peace activists who say that they are not part of any larger organisation, but from branches of different organisations coming from all walks of life in solidarity with the … flotilla.”

Salhut reported that “more than 40 vessels” seized by the Israeli Navy were now sitting in the port of Ashdod, just north of the Gaza Strip.

“What these demonstrators are saying is that this flotilla should have been allowed to go to the Gaza Strip, but that the siege on the Palestinian territory needs to end and there needs to be other ways of ensuring that happens, whether it’s by air, land, or sea,” she said.

Families and friends of Gaza-bound flotilla activists detained by Israeli forces joined a demonstration in the Netherlands demanding their release. Far-right Israeli officials have suggested the activists should be held in high-security prisons.

The Global Sumud Flotilla says its fleet has sailed into the ‘high-risk zone’, where the Israeli navy is believed to have formed a blockade to try to stop the fleet from reaching Gaza.

Activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla shared a video they said showed Israeli vessels approaching the fleet to intercept it before reaching Gaza. Such interceptions by Israeli forces in international waters are considered illegal.

Israel has intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had been attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and had garnered global attention as one of the biggest naval aid missions to the Palestinian enclave.

The Global Sumud Flotilla – carrying more than 40 civilian boats and about 500 activists – was boarded by Israeli forces late on Wednesday, with activists on board detained and taken to Israel.

Israel had previously said that it would do whatever it takes to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla, claiming the volunteers were trying to “breach a lawful naval blockade” – a claim that goes against international law.

Israel has blockaded Gaza to varying degrees since Hamas took control of the Strip in 2007. Gaza’s residents have largely been trapped in the territory since then, with the entry of food, goods and aid strictly controlled by Israel.

Here is what to know.

What happened to the flotilla on Wednesday?

Israel intercepted boats from the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid, according to statements by the flotilla organisers.

Organisers reported that naval forces boarded vessels about 70 nautical miles (130km) offshore Gaza, cutting communications and jamming signals as the flotilla approached the blockaded enclave.

SHIPS INTERCEPTED AND CAPTURED:

ALMA, ADARA, SIRIUS.

THE REST ARE STILL SAILING. 40 NAUTICAL MILES OFF THE GAZA COAST.

— Global Sumud Flotilla ✨ (@GSMFlotilla) October 1, 2025

Earlier in the day, activists described shadowy encounters with unlit boats and drones tailing the convoy, heightening tensions on board.

“On Wednesday … at around 8:30 pm (17:30 GMT), multiple vessels of Global Sumud Flotilla – notably Alma, Surius, Adara – were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters,” a flotilla statement said.

“Prior to illegally boarding the ships, it appears as though the Israeli naval vessels intentionally damaged ship communications, in an attempt to block distress signals and stop the livestream of their illegal boat boarding.”

Despite carrying only a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, the flotilla had pressed forward with its mission to establish a maritime corridor into Gaza, where nearly two years of Israel’s war have left the population facing an acute humanitarian crisis.

How did Israel respond?

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a video showing a woman in military uniform speaking by phone, introducing herself as a representative of the Israeli navy.

In the call, she warns the flotilla that it is nearing a restricted, blockaded area and explains that any aid for Gaza must be sent “through the established channels”.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also said that activists on board the Gaza aid flotilla will be deported once the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur concludes on Thursday.

“According to Israeli media, six boats have been intercepted so far, among them the vessel Alma. Reports suggest more interceptions are expected,” Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, said.

“Israeli soldiers have boarded the ships and detained many of the activists on board. Those detained would normally go through a legal process, but Israel is currently under near-total shutdown because of the Yom Kippur holiday,” she added.

“That means courts and prisons are not functioning, creating a limbo for the activists if they are detained.”

We will not allow any PR stunt approaching an active war zone to violate our sovereignty. Those who tried to enter Israeli territory illegally will be deported immediately after Yom Kippur in Israel. Israel has repeatedly offered ways to peacefully deliver aid to Gaza, but this… pic.twitter.com/JVZldN0kYb

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) October 1, 2025

Since 2009, Israel has formally enforced a naval blockade it says is necessary to prevent weapons from being smuggled in. Authorities have also alleged that some flotilla organisers are connected to Hamas, a claim the activists strongly reject as unfounded.

Has this happened before?

Vessels and convoys have attempted to break the blockade of Gaza since 2010.

A few key examples include:

2010 – The Mavi Marmara incident: The most infamous case, when Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Clashes broke out, and 10 activists were killed as a result, drawing global condemnation and straining Israel–Turkiye relations.

Israel apologised for “operational mistakes” in the raid in 2013. A compensation deal is still being negotiated between the two countries. Israeli soldiers and officials who took part in the attack are being tried in absentia in Turkiye for war crimes.

2011–2018 – Smaller flotillas stopped: Several subsequent flotillas, including vessels in 2011, 2015, and 2018. Israel typically diverted the ships to Ashdod port, detained activists, and confiscated cargo. In 2018, activists were arrested, and some reported they were tasered and beaten.

2024 – Flotilla attempts: Activist groups continued organising flotillas, but Israel either prevented them from leaving ports abroad or intercepted them before they could approach Gaza.

2025 – Several flotilla missions set sail to challenge Israel’s naval blockade.

One such mission in June involved the ship Madleen, which departed from Catania, Sicily, with food, medical supplies, baby formula, and other essential goods. It also carried activists, including Greta Thunberg.

In the early hours of June 9, Israeli naval forces intercepted and boarded the Madleen in international waters, using a chemical irritant spray, and then seized the vessel, detaining the 12 people on board. The activists were deported after being processed in Israel.

What else do we know about the current flotilla?

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail in late August 2025, departing from ports in Spain and Italy before stopping in Greece and Tunisia as it made its way across the Mediterranean.

The mission began with more than 50 vessels representing at least 44 countries, carrying hundreds of international volunteers, activists, and lawmakers. Among them are 24 Americans, including several military veterans, according to the organisers.

On board were symbolic yet significant amounts of humanitarian cargo, including food, medical supplies, and other essentials for Gaza’s population.

Activists reported several hostile encounters at sea, including suspected drone attacks near Malta and Crete, which left some vessels damaged and forced to withdraw. By the time the flotilla neared the eastern Mediterranean, 44 ships remained in the convoy.

International attention grew as the flotilla pressed on. Spain and Italy both deployed naval vessels to monitor its progress and offer assistance if required, while governments across Europe and beyond urged restraint from all parties.

Just when you thought prospects for the future of the Gaza Strip could not get any bleaker, United States President Donald Trump has unveiled his 20-point “peace plan” for the Palestinian territory, starring himself as the chair of a “Board of Peace” that will serve as a transitional government in the enclave. This from the man who has been actively aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians since January, when he took over the US presidency from former honorary genocidaire Joe Biden.

But that is not all. Also on board for the “Board of Peace” is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will reportedly play a significant governing role in Gaza’s proposed makeover. To be sure, importing a Sir Tony Blair from the United Kingdom to oversee an enclave of Palestinians smacks rather hard of colonialism in a region that is already quite familiar with the phenomenon.

And yet the region is also already quite familiar with Blair himself, owing in particular to his notorious performance during the 2003 war on Iraq, led by his buddy and then-chief of the so-called war on terror, George W Bush. Swearing by the false allegations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Blair steered the UK into a war that ultimately killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, earning him a most deserved reputation as a war criminal.

In other words, he is not a guy who should under any circumstances turn up on a “Board of Peace”.

And while Bush would subsequently retire to a quiet life of painting dogs and portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Blair continued to make a name for himself as the man the Middle East just cannot get rid of – and to make a pretty penny while at it.

After resigning as prime minister in 2007, Blair was immediately reincarnated as Middle East envoy for the “Quartet” of international powers – representing the US, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations – that is ostensibly forever striving to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue.

But in this case, too, the appointment of an envoy with close relations to Israel – the unquestionable aggressor to the “conflict” – pretty much obviated any advancement in the direction of “peace”.

Furthermore, Blair’s diplomatic activity conveniently overlapped with an array of highly lucrative business dealings in the region, from providing paid advice to Arab governments to signing on as a part-time senior adviser in 2008 with the US investment bank JP Morgan. For the latter post, Blair was said to be compensated in excess of $1m per year.

As Francis Beckett, coauthor of Blair Inc: The Man Behind the Mask, told Al Jazeera in 2016 – the year after Blair stepped down as Quartet envoy – “the difficulty was that when he went to meetings in the Middle East, nobody knew which Tony Blair they were seeing – whether it was Tony Blair the Quartet envoy or Tony Blair the patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation or Tony Blair the principal of the consultancy firm Tony Blair Associates”.

But, hey, the point of conflicts of interest is that they pay off.

In a 2013 article for the Journal of Palestine Studies, award-winning journalist Jonathan Cook noted that, while Blair had little to show in terms of “achievements” as Quartet representative, he liked to “trumpet one in particular: his success in 2009 in securing radio frequencies from Israel to allow the creation of a second Palestinian cell phone operator, Wataniya Mobile, in the West Bank”.

There was a catch, however. As Cook details, Israel released the frequencies in exchange for an agreement from the Palestinian leadership to drop the issue at the UN of Israeli war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which was launched in December 2008 and killed some 1,400 Palestinians in a matter of 22 days.

And what do you know? “Blair had private business interests in negotiating the deal,” and it so happened that “not only Wataniya but also JP Morgan stood to profit massively from the opening up of the West Bank’s airwaves.”

Now, it is hardly an exaggeration to assume that Blair will seek to capitalise on his impending governorship of Gaza, as well, as there are no doubt plenty of opportunities for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in, you know, changing the world to definitively screw over the Palestinians.

One focus of Trump’s 20-point plan, incidentally, is the “many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas … crafted by well-meaning international groups” that will magically produce “hope for future Gaza”. After all, why should Palestinians care about having a state and not being perennially massacred by Israel when they can have capitalism and the tyranny of foreign investors instead?

And the face of that tyranny may well be Blair, whose synonymousness with the slaughter of civilians in the Middle East has not prevented him from being once again tapped as a regional peacemaker.

This is not to say that Blair has no fans aside from Trump and the Israelis. For example, New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman, a fellow Orientalist and Iraq war cheerleader, once praised Blair as “one of the most important British prime ministers ever” for having decided to “throw in Britain’s lot with President Bush on the Iraq war”, thereby not only defying “the overwhelming antiwar sentiment of his own party, but public opinion in Britain generally”.

There was, it seemed, no end to Friedman’s admiration for Blair’s antidemocratic stoicism: “He had no real support group to fall back on. I’m not even sure his wife supported him on the Iraq war. (I know the feeling!)”

Now, as Gaza’s fate continues to hang at the mercy of Blair and other international war criminals, perhaps his wife should suggest that he take up painting instead.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

A Gaza-bound aid flotilla is currently sailing toward the enclave, entering a high-risk zone where previous missions have faced attacks and interceptions.

On Wednesday, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that the Israeli military is preparing to “take control” of the flotilla with naval commandos and warships. Israel wont tow all 50 vessels however and will sink some at sea, Kan said.

Israel intends to detain hundreds of activists on naval ships, question them then deport them via the port of Ashdod.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Spain on August 31, is the largest maritime mission to Gaza to date. It brings together more than 50 ships and delegations from at least 44 countries, as part of an international effort to challenge Israel’s naval blockade and deliver aid to Gaza.

The map below shows the latest location:

So, is Israel entitled to board ships that are in international waters? The answer is no, here’s how territorial and international waters work.

Which waters does a country control?

Coastal countries control the waters closest to their shores, called territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles (22km) from the coast. In this zone, the state has full sovereignty, just like over its land.

Beyond that, they have rights over up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) of ocean, including the water and seafloor. This area is called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In the EEZ, countries can regulate activities such as fishing, mining, drilling, and other energy projects, while still allowing other countries freedom of navigation.

France has the largest EEZ, covering approximately 10.7 million square kilometres (4.2 million sq miles), thanks to its overseas territories. It is followed by the US, Australia, Russia, and the UK.

Where are international waters?

Covering about 64 percent of the ocean, the high seas lie beyond any country’s territorial waters and economic zones and are not controlled by a single state, with their use governed by international agreements.

What are the laws of the high seas?

The laws of the high seas are governed by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It stipulates that all states can enjoy freedom of movement of ships in the high seas and aircraft can fly freely.

It also allows the laying of subsea cables and pipelines, as well as fishing, scientific research and the construction of islands. All three of which are subject to international agreements and laws.

Ships that are on the high seas are subject to the jurisdiction of the flag they fly, except those conducting piracy and other unauthorised activities.

Israel has attacked previous flotillas in international waters

Several Freedom Flotilla vessels have attempted to break the blockade of Gaza since 2010. All were intercepted or attacked by Israel, mostly in international waters where it has no territorial rights.

The most deadly occurred on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The commandos killed 10 activists, most of them Turkish, and injured dozens more, sparking global outrage and severely straining Israel-Turkiye relations.

The map below shows the approximate locations where prominent flotillas were stopped, some encountering deadly Israeli forces.

In 2024, amid ongoing flotilla missions delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, UN experts stated that: “The Freedom Flotilla has the right of free passage in international waters, and Israel must not interfere with its freedom of navigation, long recognised under international law.”

The Sumud Flotilla had been sailing through international waters and into Palestinian territorial waters, where it has the legal right to navigate and deliver humanitarian aid.

According to Stephen Cotton, the General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), representing more than 16.5 million transport workers globally, “The law of the sea is clear: attacking or seizing non-violent, humanitarian vessels in international waters is illegal and unacceptable.”

“Such actions endanger lives and undermine the basic principles that keep the seas safe for all. This is not only about seafarers, it’s about the safety of everyone at sea, whether on a commercial ship, a humanitarian vessel, or a fishing boat. States cannot pick and choose when to respect international law. The seas must not be turned into a theatre of war.”  Cotton told Al Jazeera.

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the mission is not only lawful but also protected under a comprehensive set of international legal instruments. Including:

• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – Guarantees freedom of navigation on the high seas
• San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea – Prohibits blockades that cause starvation or disproportionate suffering and forbids the targeting of neutral humanitarian missions
• UN Security Council Resolutions 2720 and 2728 – These binding instruments demand unimpeded humanitarian access and the removal of all barriers to aid delivery
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – Includes the prevention of acts deliberately endangering civilians
• Fourth Geneva Convention – Imposes an obligation to permit the free passage of humanitarian aid and prohibit interference with relief operations and the targeting of civilian infrastructure
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – Criminalises the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and willful obstruction of humanitarian aid.

Details are key in any peace agreement. Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza is notably lacking in them. Al Jazeera’s Virginia Pietromarchi explains.