Above photo: Canada Boat to Gaza/X.
NOTE: The situation on the sea is changing rapidly as flotilla vessels continue to try to reach Gaza and end the siege after the Israeli attack on the convoy yesterday 250 miles from the shore. Early this morning, Ann Wright reported:
Ten boats, including the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s boat “Lina” are still sailing toward Gaza in the largest civilian flotilla in the history of support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank attempting to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. You can watch their process on tracker:https://freedomflotilla.org/ffc-gsf-tracker/
Nine U.S. citizens are on the ten boats still underway to Gaza!! Over 400 unarmed civilian participants from 45 countries have been kidnapped in international waters by Israeli military forces.
Their boats have been purposely damaged by the Israeli military and left adrift as a hazard to international shipping and as another violation of international law by the Israeli government.
The 54 boat flotilla, which included boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition and many other organizations from Turkiye, Malaysia and Indonesia was intercepted yesterday, Monday, May 18, 2026 beginning at 10:30am Turkiye time.
The cargo “prison” ship that Captains, crew and participants were incarcerated into after interception has slowly moved toward Ashdod port in Israel where flotilla participants historically have been processed by the Israeli government. Israeli Foreign Ministry video of some participants greeting each other on the cargo ship:https://freedomflotilla.org/ffc-gsf-tracker/
After extensive processing procedures, flotilla participants are sent to a prison for detention for several days before deportation proceedings begin.
For the past few flotillas, twice in 2025 and in Crete, Greece in 2026, the Turkish government has kindly sent a Turkish airliner to retrieve some of the participants and bring them to the Istanbul International airport for onward flights home.
Other participants were taken by Israeli transport to the border crossing to Jordan and turned over to the embassies of the participants.
In the case of U.S. citizens, the U.S. government, the lap-dog of Israel, generally does not meet, nor provide any assistance to U.S. citizens, as required by U.S. law.
We anticipate the prison ship will dock at Ashdod port today and processing will begin with participants waiting in the sun in uncomfortable positions, such as having to knee on concrete.
In a true test of their nonviolence training, they may have to be close to and listen to various Israeli government ministers berate them for challenging Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, destruction of southern Lebanon and massive attacks on Iran.
Reporting from the Flotilla Crisis Center in Istanbul, Turkiye, Ann Wright
Here is the link to the tracker: https://freedomflotilla.org/ffc-gsf-tracker/
Edited at 12:48pm EDT: The last boat sailing is the Lina Al Nabulsi. Here is its livestream:
Here is the joint statement by the foreign ministers of 10 countries regarding the Israeli Assaults on the Global Sumud Flotilla, 18 May 2026:
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Türkiye, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Federative Republic of Brazil, Republic of Colombia, Republic of Indonesia, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, State of Libya, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Kingdom of Spain condemn in the strongest terms the renewed Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.
The Ministers recall with grave concern the Israeli interventions against previous flotillas in international waters and condemn the continuation of hostile acts targeting civilian vessels and humanitarian activists. Such assaults, including attacks against the vessels and the arbitrary detention of activists, constitute blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law.
The Ministers express serious concern regarding the safety and security of the civilian participants of the flotilla and call for the immediate release of all detained activists, as well as for full respect for their rights and dignity.
The Ministers further stress that repeated attacks against peaceful humanitarian initiatives reflect the continued disregard for international law and freedom of navigation. They call on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities, ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian missions, and take concrete steps to end impunity and ensure accountability for these violations.
Also see: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/
🚨 SOS – Lidd (Nablus) Intercepted
SOS: the israeli occupation has again illegally and violently intercepted our international fleet of humanitarian vessels and abducted our volunteers as they undertake a legitimate mission to break the illegal siege on Gaza and open a… pic.twitter.com/xjpncvOp6h
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) May 19, 2026
From the Sirius, just 96 nautical miles from Gaza, a big message from @LautaroRivara and crew members | the @gbsumudflotilla still sails pic.twitter.com/GcH1m7MJbb
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) May 19, 2026
🚨 Israeli forces intercept Sirius, final boat from Global Sumud Flotilla, in international waters in Mediterranean Sea pic.twitter.com/CepKk1m3Bf
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 19, 2026
Organizers are calling on everyone to take the following actions immediately:
- Follow all the boats of the flotilla on the tracker: freedomflotilla.org/ffc-gsf-tracker
- Share news from the flotilla across social media and public platforms, including Instagram content FFC and GSF.
Follow on: Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and share that content. - National and community organizations, unions, and faith institutions: Issue a public statement or press release calling for the flotilla’s protection, the right of civilians to reach Gaza, and end to the blockade, for release of flotilla participants, and for release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Organize a local vigil or protest.
- CONTACT members of Congress and demand that they publicly oppose the attack on the vessels. Call on them to demand an end to the blockade and an end to U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. The U.S. Capitol switchboard is: (202) 224-3121.
- CALL ON local and state officials to speak against any violence targeting civilian flotilla participants and call for the immediate release of detainees.
- DONATE: http://usboatstogaza.org/donate
