Israel Intercepts Gaza Aid Flotilla, Detains South Korean Activist

(MENAFN) A South Korean activist is believed to be in Israeli military custody after the Israeli Navy intercepted and attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud aid flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea late Monday, a South Korean news agency reported Tuesday, citing a Palestinian liberation advocacy group.

The group said the vessel Kyriakos X — carrying activist Kim Dong-hyeon — was intercepted by the Israeli Navy near Cyprus in the late hours of Monday, Seoul time. Kim is believed to be held aboard an Israeli warship alongside other international activists who were part of the humanitarian mission.

Kim had departed for the Gaza Strip earlier this month in defiance of a travel ban on the Palestinian enclave imposed by the South Korean government.

A second South Korean activist, Kim Ah-hyun, was reported to be travelling aboard a nearby vessel that the group cautioned could also face seizure by Israeli forces. Kim Ah-hyun had previously been detained by Israeli forces during an earlier attempt to reach Gaza in October before being released.

The Global Sumud flotilla — comprising more than 50 vessels — departed Thursday from Marmaris, a Turkish Mediterranean district, in a fresh bid to pierce the Israeli blockade that has strangled Gaza since 2007. Organizers confirmed that 426 participants from 39 countries were aboard, including 96 Turkish activists alongside nationals from Germany, the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, France, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia, Oman, and New Zealand.

This is not the first confrontation involving the flotilla. Israeli forces previously attacked the Global Sumud off the coast of the Greek island of Crete overnight between April 29 and April 30.

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