Israel intercepts boat seeking to break Gaza blockade

Israel’s navy intercepted an activist boat seeking to break the country’s decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it was boarded without incident and was being directed to shore.

The navy said in a statement on Wednesday its forces had “redirected” the sailboat in order to prevent a “breach of the lawful maritime blockade” of the Palestinian enclave.

It said this was done “in accordance with government directives and after exhausting all diplomatic channels”.

SOS messages from #WomenToGazahttps://t.co/uUtRmjG9ur
Pls contact your Govt to demand their release and an end to the illegal blockade! pic.twitter.com/6EIkuPvXL4

— Freedom Flotilla (@GazaFFlotilla) October 5, 2016

Thirteen women, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, were travelling aboard the Zaytouna-Oliva sailboat in the Mediterranean towards Gaza, which is run by Hamas.

The Zaytouna-Oliva set sail from Barcelona in September and was carrying women of various nationalities in addition to Maguire, a Northern Ireland activist.

Dubbed the “Women’s Boat to Gaza”, it is part of the wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition that consists of pro-Palestinian boats that regularly seek to go to Gaza to try to break the blockade.

One such operation turned to tragedy in 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists in a raid on a flotilla.

In Wednesday’s operation, the Israeli navy said it intercepted the sailboat after advising it “numerous times to change course prior to the action”.

It said its forces had boarded and searched the vessel, describing the operation as “uneventful”.

The boat was now believed to be headed towards the Israeli port of Ashdod. Organisers said they had lost communication with the activists.

Hamas denounced the move as “state terrorism”.

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Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

Israel maintains a blockade to keep material it claims could be used for military purposes from entering the impoverished enclave of 1.9 million people.

United Nations officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, saying conditions are deteriorating in Gaza.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel’s military struck several Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip after a rocket launched from the Palestinian enclave hit the nearby Israeli city of Sderot, with no casualties reported on either side.

READ MORE: All-female flotilla aims to break Israeli siege of Gaza

A small Salafist Sunni group, which opposes Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all such rocket fire and often responds with air and tank strikes, but recent responses have been stronger than in the past.

A delegation from the International Criminal Court is visiting Israel and Palestine this week, its chief prosecutor said on Wednesday, against the backdrop of an investigation into the last Gaza war.