Kuala lumpur: The Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC) confirmed that 25 Malaysians who were on 15 ships of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 were among those detained after dozens of humanitarian aid ships were reportedly intercepted by the Israeli navy (IOF) while en route to Gaza.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, SNCC director-general Datuk Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby stated that a total of 40 flotilla ships involving nearly 350 humanitarian activists had been intercepted and raided. As of 3 pm today, SNCC had yet to receive confirmation on the status and location of all the activists who were detained, including whether they were still at sea or had been taken to Ashdod port.
"SNCC received visual reports confirming that all activists were forcibly abducted from their respective ships onto four regime military vessels. To date, SNCC has yet to receive confirmation on the status of all detained activists, including the location and destination of their transfer after the interception incident," he said in a press conference today.
Sani Araby mentioned that SNCC was closely monitoring two possible locations for the transfer of the detained activists, either heading to Greece or the port of Ashdod. The first scenario was based on initial information claiming that the Israeli military ship carrying the activists was moving towards Greece. The second scenario was based on an announcement by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stating that the ships were expected to arrive at Ashdod port tomorrow. Both possibilities had a high probability, but the exact location of all detained activists had not been ascertained.
"It is possible that Israel is trying to divert attention, and until now we have not yet been certain where they will actually be taken," he said.
Among the ships intercepted and detained by IOF are Cactus, Marilyn, Jandabar, Holy Blue, Sadabad, Zio Faster, Blue Toys, Kyriakos, Josef, Barbaros, Tenaz, Ozgurluk, Isobella, Amanda, Umut, Furleto, Bolarize, Vincovolo, Amazon, Bianca ITA, Abodes, Gotico, Bye Luby, Themis, La Cirena, Last Dream, Adalah, Rim, Peluxo, Iridescence, Belella, Atlantic Blue, Venus, Isias, Azur, Nablus, Diabolo, L'Arq, Perseverance, and Munki.
The Malaysians involved in the incident include Razman Mat Ali, Nor Liyana Farhan Daud, Al Ahmad Shah Abdul Kadir, Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak, and Eddy Noor Mad Amin, among others. The SNCC also confirmed the arrest of activists from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, such as Abdul Sattar, Sameera, Thoudy Badai, Heru Rahendro, Andre Prasetyo, Bambang Noroyono, and Andi Anga Prasadewa.
"SNCC condemns this interception and kidnapping as a pirate act, a despicable act, and a clear violation of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and a serious violation of the principle of freedom of humanitarian missions carried out in international waters," Sani Araby said.