Israeli forces intercepted a flotilla of aid boats headed for Gaza on Wednesday, seizing a vessel carrying Turkish lawmakers, journalists and activists and sparking condemnation from Ankara and pro-Palestinian groups, Turkish Minute reported.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organized the mission, said the Israeli military first attacked The Conscience, a ship carrying 93 people including doctors, journalists and activists before intercepting three smaller boats. Passengers were “being held in unknown conditions,” the group said.
Among those aboard were three Turkish parliamentarians, activists and crew members. No contact has been made with them since the raid, according to Turkish officials.
Felicity Party lawmakers Mehmet Atmaca and Necmettin Çalışkan and Gelecek (Future) Party lawmaker Sema Silkin Ün are the three members of the Turkish parliament in the flotilla.
Ün appeared in a pre-recorded video shared on social media before the interception.
“I am Sema Silkin Ün, a member of the Turkish parliament. If you are watching this video, it means I have been unlawfully detained by Israeli forces during my journey aimed at breaking the illegal blockade of Gaza,” she says in the video.
In a statement on Wednesday Turkey’s foreign ministry denounced the Israeli operation as “an act of piracy” and said it targeted “civil activists, including Turkish citizens and members of parliament.” It demanded the immediate release of all detainees.
Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), condemned the raid on X, calling it a “barbaric attack” on a ship carrying the Turkish lawmakers. “We expect everyone on board to return safely,” he said, accusing Israel of acting with impunity thanks to US support.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also reacted strongly, warning Israel over the detention of the Turkish lawmakers. He said at a parliamentary event on Wednesday that the people responsible will be held accountable before the international community if the Turkish lawmakers sustain the slightest harm.
Kurtulmuş described the three MPs as “honorable and courageous” and urged their immediate return, calling Israel’s actions “the last straw” and demanding that they be released without delay.
Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed the interception in a post on X, calling it “another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone.” The ministry said the vessels and passengers were taken to an Israeli port and would be deported, stressing that “all the passengers are safe and in good health.”
The FFC said the flotilla was carrying more than $110,000 worth of aid, including medicine, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies for Gaza’s hospitals. The network of international activist groups regularly organizes maritime missions in defiance of Israel’s blockade, which it says constitutes collective punishment of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
This was the second interception in recent days. Over the weekend, Israel detained about 450 activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which involved around 40 vessels. Most of those activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and 50 Turkish activists, have since been deported.
