CRETE — Israeli military forces intercepted seven vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission in international waters near the Greek island of Crete, using jamming technology and armed boarding teams to seize control of boats bound for Gaza. The flotilla, which set out with 58 vessels carrying more than 400 civilians, said its boats were surrounded in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Israeli army had earlier issued warnings to activists aboard the ships, demanding they return immediately and threatening to intercept the vessels and obstruct their arrival by all possible means if they continued sailing to Gaza.

"Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as 'Israel', pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons, ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees," the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission said. The group also said that "Israeli military boats have illegally surrounded the flotilla in international waters and threatened kidnapping and violence."

Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, said the sea assault was taking place hundreds of miles from Israel and that the flotilla was surrounded and threatened at gunpoint. He said Israel's boarding of the vessels was an attack on unarmed civilian boats in international waters.

"This is illegal under international law. Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. Boarding these boats amounts to illegal detention – potentially kidnapping on the high seas," Tsabar said. "It's critical that all governments act now. Every government has an obligation to protect the over 400 civilians on board and to uphold international law. Silence in this moment is absolute complicity," he added.

Tariq Ra'ouf, a writer and activist with the flotilla, said large Israeli military ships surrounded the convoy and deployed rigid inflatable boats to encircle the vessels. He said drones flashed lights at the boats while the Israeli military broadcast radio messages claiming the activists were breaking international law and ordering them to stop.

Ra'ouf said the naval operation unfolded over several hours while the flotilla was traveling to Crete in international waters. He said communications with many of the boats were lost after the Israeli military jammed radio channels by playing music over them as a psychological warfare tactic.