JERUSALEM: Israel vowed on Monday that it would not allow a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid to break its blockade of the Palestinian territory.
“Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Hamas of organizing the flotilla to serve the militant group’s purpose.
The ministry said the vessels would be allowed to dock at Ashkelon from where the aid could be delivered to Gaza.
“If the flotilla participants’ genuine wish is to deliver humanitarian aid rather than serve Hamas, Israel calls on the vessels to dock at the Ashkelon marina and unload the aid there, from where it will be transferred promptly in a coordinated manner to the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, also carrying prominent pro-Palestinian advocates including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, set sail for Gaza earlier this month from Tunisia after repeated delays.
It aims to break Israel’s seige of Gaza and deliver aid to the territory.
Prior to its departure it said that two of its boats were targeted by drone attacks.
Israel blocked two earlier attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.
Israel says will not allow Gaza-bound aid flotilla to break its blockade
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Israel says will not allow Gaza-bound aid flotilla to break its blockade
- Israel Foreign Ministry: ‘Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade’
- Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying prominent pro-Palestinian advocates including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, set sail for Gaza earlier this month from Tunisia
UN peacekeepers say Israeli forces fired on them in southern Lebanon
- “Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF soldiers in a Merkava tank,” UNIFIL said
- It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers a day earlier in the country’s south, urging Israel’s army to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest such incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF (Israeli army) soldiers in a Merkava tank,” a UNIFIL statement said, referring to the de facto border.
“One ten-round burst of machine-gun fire was fired above the convoy, and four further ten-round bursts were fired nearby,” the statement said.
It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory at the time of the incident and that the Israeli military had been informed of the location and timing of the peacekeeping patrol in advance.
“Peacekeepers asked the IDF to stop firing through UNIFIL’s liaison channels... Fortunately, no one was injured,” it said.
Last month UNIFIL said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of (UN) Security Council Resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said on Wednesday, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
“We call on the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line,” the peacekeepers said.
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
On Saturday, a UN Security Council delegation visiting Lebanon urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire.
It emphasized that the “safety of peacekeepers must be respected and that they must never be targeted,” after gunmen on mopeds attacked UNIFIL personnel last week.
