Spain has “urgently” summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Madrid to convey its “strongest condemnation” over the detention of activists, including Spanish nationals, from the Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla, Spanish news agency EFE reported.
Sources from Spain’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that embassies and consulates in Israel and the region, along with the consular emergency unit, were “fully operational and in contact with the organisers of the flotilla.”
The ministry said that Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares was also in contact with counterparts from other countries whose citizens were among those arrested.
One of the crew members, Catalan firefighter Pau Perez, who was not arrested, said on social media that they had spent the night trying to evade Israeli vessels.
“We do not know where they have taken them,” Perez said, according to EFE, calling for protests to demand their release.
Sources in the aid flotilla said, according to the report, that about 20 of those Spanish nationals reside in Catalonia.
The flotilla, which consists of 58 vessels carrying activists from multiple countries, departed Barcelona on April 15, aiming to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
‘Unacceptable’
The president of Spain's Catalan region also condemned Israel for intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla and detaining activists on board, calling it unacceptable and against international law.
"We are closely following the situation of the Flotilla that has been intercepted, on which several Catalans are travelling," Salvador Illa wrote on X.
He noted that Catalan authorities are in contact with the involved authorities to ensure the protection of all people. "I condemn Israel's intervention in international waters because it is contrary to international law and, therefore, unacceptable," said Illa.
Meanwhile, the regional Ara newspaper reported that the Catalan parliament also condemned the Israeli seizure and urged the Spanish government to "intervene immediately."
More than 180 activists detained
The Israeli army detained more than 180 activists in international waters, including around 30 Spanish citizens, 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) off Gaza, the head of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza, which organised the voyage, said on Thursday.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million population on the verge of starvation.
In October 2023, the Israeli army launched a two-year brutal war on Gaza, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
