Naval Piracy In Broad Daylight | Israeli Forces Storm Handala Ship In International Waters Amid Ongoing Gaza Massacres – Day 659.

GAZA / INTERNATIONAL WATERS — In a brazen act of extraterritorial aggression, Israeli naval commandos stormed the Handala, a civilian aid ship operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), in international waters late Saturday. The unarmed vessel was carrying 21 international activists, including elected officials and journalists, as well as tons of humanitarian aid, diapers, baby formula, food and medicine, destined for the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military confirmed the seizure, stating the Handala, referred to by its original name Navarn, had attempted to “illegally enter” the maritime zone off Gaza. Israeli authorities have towed the vessel to Ashdod Port, and all passengers are to be deported, The Times of Israel reported. But human rights experts, international lawyers, and the activists themselves sharply condemned the operation as a violation of international law and a deliberate obstruction of humanitarian relief.

“This is state piracy in full view of the world,” said Zohar Chamberlain Regev, an Israeli-Spanish activist and FFC spokesperson. “The Handala was boarded while still in international waters. The Israeli Navy committed an act of aggression against civilians delivering aid to starving people.”

The Raid: Live Broadcast Cut By Force.

Just moments before the raid, a YouTube livestream showed activists in life jackets, their hands raised in surrender, as Israeli soldiers boarded the vessel. One helmeted soldier was seen turning the camera away from the deck; seconds later, the stream was abruptly cut.

“The occupation has disabled our cameras and all communication has been lost,” an FFC spokesperson told CNN. The group also confirmed the crew had sent a distress signal before being forcibly boarded.

According to Tania Safi, an Australian volunteer aboard the ship, Israeli Heron drones had been circling the Handala for hours.

“Everyone here has prepared for almost every possible scenario that Israel could put us through,” Safi said in a voice note to CNN. “If they intercept us, it would be a violation of international maritime law.”

The ship had altered its course toward Egypt in a last-ditch effort to avoid the assault, but was nevertheless surrounded and captured.

Political Passengers, Unarmed Mission:

Those aboard the Handala included members of European and French parliaments, trade unionists such as Christian Small (USA), and journalists from multiple countries. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed one of its citizens was among the crew. At least four U.S. citizens are believed to have been aboard, prompting calls for diplomatic intervention.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights condemned the raid as an “illegal seizure” and demanded immediate action from the U.S. State Department.

“The U.S. government must not be complicit in the kidnapping of American citizens delivering aid to starving civilians. This is collective punishment disguised as security,” said Katherine Gallagher, senior staff attorney with the CCR.

Obstructing Aid While Weaponising Hunger:

The Handala raid comes as Israel faces mounting accusations of deliberately engineering famine in Gaza. On Sunday, Israeli media confirmed that a so-called “humanitarian truce” had begun in limited areas, yet airstrikes and starvation deaths continue unabated.

“Israel claims it is allowing aid, but simultaneously blocks and bombs the very routes and people attempting to deliver it,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch. “This is not a humanitarian gesture. It’s a calculated display of impunity.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported Sunday that more than 127 people, including 85 children, have now died of starvation since October. At least 71 Palestinians were killed in one day this weekend, as many gathered for aid drops. The total death toll since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023 has now surpassed 100,000, with over 377,000 injured, most of them women and children.

A Pattern Of Maritime Aggression:

The attack on the Handala follows a well-established pattern. On June 9, Israeli forces seized the aid ship Madleen, deporting its 12 activists, among them Greta Thunberg, after coercing them to sign pledges not to return. In previous weeks, FFC reported multiple acts of sabotage and drone harassment against its vessels, including an attempt to poison water tanks aboard the Handala and a damaged propeller traced to deliberate tampering in a European port.

“The Israeli government is not just waging war on Gaza, it is waging war on truth, solidarity, and international law,” said Dr. Mona El-Farra, a physician in Gaza City. “They fear people of conscience more than armed resistance.”

Legal And Diplomatic Silence:

International legal experts assert that the boarding of a civilian vessel in international waters constitutes an act of piracy under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“Israel had no legal jurisdiction to board this ship outside its territorial waters,” said Craig Mokhiber, former UN human rights official and international law expert. “This is piracy. And it is part of a broader strategy to criminalise humanitarianism.”

Yet Western governments have remained largely silent. A U.S. State Department spokesperson dismissed the Handala as a “selfie flotilla,” claiming the real aid work was being done “without fanfare” and “without helping terrorists.”

That remark drew outrage from activists and observers.

“To call this a selfie stunt while children starve and bombs fall on shelters is grotesque,” said Dr. Sara Roy, a scholar at Harvard’s Centre for Middle Eastern Studies. “The flotilla is a moral imperative, not a publicity stunt.”

‘We Will Not Be Silenced’

Despite the seizure, FFC vowed to continue its efforts to break the blockade and deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

“Israel can tow our ships, silence our cameras, and deport our people, but it cannot erase the truth,” the group said in a statement Sunday. “The world must see what is being done to Gaza, and how far Israel will go to hide it.”

Meanwhile, hunger continues to tighten its grip on Gaza. Aid is airdropped by parachute, often falling into the sea or in places inaccessible to civilians. Children queue for hours for crumbs. Medical supplies remain critically low.

“I buried my niece this morning. She died from drinking contaminated water,” said Ahmed Abu Salim, a father in Deir al-Balah. “Where is the world? Where are the so-called humanitarian truces?”

Conclusion: A Crime Concealed, A World Complicit.

As Day 659 of Israel’s war on Gaza unfolds, the Handala raid reflects a broader pattern of criminalising solidarity, suppressing humanitarianism, and denying Palestinians the right to survive.

The violent seizure of the Handala is not an isolated incident; it is part of an escalating pattern by Israel to suppress humanitarian missions, silence international witnesses, and shield its atrocities in Gaza from global scrutiny. After the interceptions of the Mandaala Flotilla and the earlier Freedom Flotilla missions, both similarly sabotaged or seized, Israel’s intention is clear: to blockade not only Gaza’s borders, but also the truth.

By hijacking unarmed aid ships in international waters, Israel is in breach of international law and maritime laws with impunity while trying to criminalise compassion and erase records of its crimes. The presence of lawmakers, journalists, medics, and peace activists on these vessels is exactly what the Israeli government fears most: international accountability.

These flotillas carry more than diapers and baby formula. They carry the message that the world has not forgotten Gaza, and that not all are willing to be complicit. Yet the silence of most Western governments, and the callous dismissal of the flotilla as a “selfie stunt” by a U.S. State Department spokesperson, reveals a deeper rot: a geopolitical order willing to sacrifice principle, law, and civilian lives for alliance and convenience.

While Israel massacres, starves, kidnaps, and ethnically cleanses Palestinians, the international community offers not justice, but hollow declarations and photo-op diplomacy. Empty rhetoric has become the currency of complicity. While aid convoys are hijacked, Western leaders applaud themselves for “humanitarian pauses” that last hours while famine and carpet bombing continue.

The world is not failing Gaza by accident; it is doing so by design. It is aiding and abetting starvation, displacement, and genocide. And the seizure of the Handala is a chilling reminder that even civilian efforts to intervene, peacefully and legally, are being violently extinguished by a regime emboldened by global silence.

This is not just a war on Gaza. It is a war on truth, on humanity, on solidarity.

History will not judge kindly those who stood by, or worse, those who **collaborated. Children starved, hospitals collapsed, and an entire people was pushed toward annihilation. The flotillas may be intercepted, but the call for justice cannot be sunk.

The question now is not whether we are witnessing genocide, it is whether we are prepared to stop it.