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Middle East conflict

Participants of Sumud flotilla head to Israel, set for deportation

"The passengers remain safe and in good health," the ministry said

TEL AVIV, October 2. /TASS/. Participants of the humanitarian flotilla Sumud are sailing toward Israel on their vessels, from where they will later be sent back to Europe, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s press service announced.

"The passengers of the Hamas-linked Sumud flotilla are calmly and safely moving toward Israel, where removal procedures to Europe will begin. The passengers remain safe and in good health," the ministry said.

Early Thursday morning, Israeli Navy ships stopped the flotilla, whose members were heading to the shores of the Gaza Strip and declined to alter course. Shortly before the interception, representatives of the flotilla reported their vessels were about 75 nautical miles from the Palestinian enclave.

The Sumud flotilla (translated from Arabic as "steadfastness" or "resistance") departed from Tunisia’s coast to Gaza in mid-September. It consists of over 40 ships from different nations, with Swedish human rights activist Greta Thunberg aboard one of them. The mission sought to challenge the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the affected residents.

Israeli authorities declared the flotilla was directly connected to the radical Palestinian group Hamas and repeatedly affirmed they would not permit the ships to near Gaza’s shores, citing a maritime blockade due to ongoing clashes in the enclave. Israel proposed the activists unload humanitarian cargo at the port of Ashkelon, the closest Israeli harbor to Gaza, or at a port in another country, from where the aid could then be transferred to the Strip. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the activists declined all these options.

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