Turkey helped evacuate activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla after one of the vessels broke down and began taking on water, organizers and the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported Monday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg among its participants on some 50 boats, departed from Barcelona earlier this month, aiming to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver symbolic aid to the war-torn enclave. It expects to reach the Gaza Strip on Tuesday or Wednesday, if it is not turned away before then.
In a statement posted on Instagram, the flotilla organizers said the mission was temporarily halted after one of the ships, Johnny M, sustained a leak in its engine room.
“All participants have been safely transferred to another vessel. Some will be reassigned to other ships, while others will be brought ashore,” the statement said.
According to Anadolu, the vessel was located in international waters between Crete, Cyprus and Egypt when it issued a distress call early Monday.
Turkish authorities, including the Turkish Red Crescent, coordinated the evacuation effort.
Semih Fener, the captain of one of the ships dispatched to assist, told Anadolu the incident was due to a technical malfunction, not a sinking.
“We picked up 12 people and distributed them to other ships. Four people will return home,” he said, adding that the evacuees would travel to their respective countries via Turkey.
The Turkish Red Crescent confirmed to AFP it had coordinated the evacuation.
Wael Naouar, a spokesman for the flotilla’s Maghreb fleet, told Anadolu on Sunday the flotilla expects to reach Gaza, if it is not intercepted, by Tuesday, September 30, or Wednesday, October 1.
Previous flotillas have been stopped by Israeli forces some distance from the shore, and made to dock in Israel instead.
The Sumud flotilla paused for several days last week in Greek waters, and resumed sailing on Sunday.
It is being escorted by one Spanish and two Italian navy vessels, which their respective governments have clarified are not expected to use military force.
The navy ships were dispatched after, last Wednesday, the flotilla was struck in international waters off Crete by drones armed with stun grenades and irritants, which caused damage but no injuries.
Flotilla organizers blamed Israel for the drone attacks. The Foreign Ministry did not respond directly to the accusation, but invited the flotilla to drop humanitarian aid for Israel to take to Gaza, or face consequences.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007, saying it was a bid to stop the import of weapons after the Hamas terror group overthrew the Palestinian Authority and took control of the enclave.
Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza. The war started on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with most of the population displaced.