{"id":424822,"date":"2026-04-30T08:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/424822\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T08:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:05:07","slug":"israel-intercepts-gaza-aid-flotilla-catherine-connollys-sister-is-part-of-organisers-say-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/424822\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel intercepts Gaza aid flotilla Catherine Connolly\u2019s sister is part of, organisers say \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel <\/a>has intercepted aid \u200cships bound for Gaza in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said on Thursday, decrying \u200cthe move as an \u201cescalation of Israel\u2019s impunity\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza<\/a> \u200bsailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12th, aiming to try to break the Israeli blockade.<\/p>\n

President Catherine Connolly<\/a>\u2019s sister Margaret Connolly is aboard one of the vessels forming part of the flotilla.<\/a><\/p>\n

The flotilla has said its objective is \u201cbreaking the illegal blockade on Gaza<\/a> and establishing a people\u2019s sea corridor\u201d for food and medicines and other essential supplies. It also claims to have assembled the largest fleet dedicated to breaking the siege of Gaza, with more than 1,000 participants.<\/p>\n

The vessels were seized on Thursday night by Israel hundreds of kilometres \u200bfrom Gaza, said the organisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is piracy,\u201d the group said in \u2060a statement. \u201cThis is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the \u200copen \u200csea \u200bnear Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its own borders, with no \u2060consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

No state had the \u200bright to claim, police, or \u200boccupy international waters, but Israel had done that, extending its control outward to \u200coccupy the Mediterranean Sea off \u200bthe coast of Europe, it added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe demand immediate answers and accountability,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWhere are the abducted civilians? Where were they taken? Were European governments co-ordinating with the Israelis to facilitate the abductions?<\/p>\n

\u201cDeeper question remains: how has Israel been allowed to reach a point where it can carry out abductions in plain sight, against unarmed civilians, without fear of consequence?\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s UN envoy, Danny Danon, said \u2060the flotilla \u201cwas stopped before reaching our \u2060area\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a \u200bposting on X, he added, \u201cOur brave [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers are acting with professionalism and determination dealing with a group of delusional attention-seeking agitators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation last October<\/a> in an attempt to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more \u200cthan 450 participants.<\/p>\n

Connolly, originally from Co Galway, is a GP and activist based in Co Sligo. She is one of the President\u2019s 13 siblings. In an interview with The Sligo Champion before her departure, Connolly said: \u201cI have joined the flotilla because we cannot stand by while millions are subjected to forced starvation and an illegal siege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel, \u2060which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its two million residents.<\/p>\n

Palestinians and \u200cinternational aid bodies say supplies reaching the territory are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire \u200breached in October that included guarantees of increased aid. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel has intercepted aid \u200cships bound for Gaza in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said on Thursday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[39318,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-424822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-global-sumud-flotilla","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}