7m ago (21:30 GMT)
Here’s the latest:

Israeli forces arrest activists, including Greta Thunberg, on board the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip, after intercepting their boats. Earlier, the Israeli navy said it had begun intercepting boats from the aid flotilla. Israeli media, including Channel 13, report that six vessels have already been stopped.

The flotilla’s seizure has sparked protests in Greece, Italy and Belgium, where demonstrators have taken to the streets in solidarity with Gaza.
Israel attacked al-Falah School, which had been sheltering hundreds of displaced people in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, killing at least six people, including Palestinian Civil Defence member Munther al-Dahshan.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has been forced to suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate staff to southern Gaza because of the intensification of Israeli military operations.

23m ago (21:15 GMT)
Hamas condemns Israeli interception of Sumud flotilla
The Gaza-based Palestinian group has released a statement following the interception of the Sumud flotilla.

Here are the translated comments:

We condemn in the strongest terms the barbaric aggression against the Sumud Flotilla and consider it a criminal act that must be condemned by all free people of the world.

The Israeli occupation army’s interception of the Sumud Flotilla and the arrest of activists is piracy and “terrorism” and will increase the anger of the peoples of the world.

We call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in condemning the occupation’s piracy and taking urgent steps to protect the activists and their ships.

38m ago (21:00 GMT)
Pro-Palestinian activists protest in Athens against interception of Sumud flotilla
Pro-Palestinian activists hold a banner and a Palestinian flag as they protest to condemn the interception of the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, outside the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Greece, October 1, 2025.

Pro-Palestinian activists hold a banner and a Palestinian flag as they protest to condemn the interception of the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla [Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]
Pro-Palestinian activists wave Palestinian flags as they protest to condemn the interception of the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, outside the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Greece, October 1, 2025.

58m ago (20:40 GMT)
Israeli navy spraying water on vessels
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that the Israeli navy is spraying large amounts of water on the ships of the Sumud Flotilla.

As we have been reporting, this comes after Israeli forces intercepted a number of the flotilla’s vessels.

1h ago (20:15 GMT)
Protests erupt in several Italian cities over interception of Gaza aid ships
Protests have erupted in a number of cities late after reports that the ships that were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) had been intercepted by military personnel.

In the southern city of Naples, demonstrators got into the main railway station and halted train traffic, while police surrounded the Termini railway station in Rome after protesters gathered close to entrances.

The GSF, which consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, includes an Italian contingent.

It has been trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza with medicine and food, despite repeated warnings from Israel to turn back. Israeli blockade has caused famine and starvation in Gaza, which has been the target of two years of Israeli bombardment.

More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli operation that has been dubbed genocide by the UN inquiry panel.

2h ago (19:35 GMT)
Italy’s largest union calls general strike for Friday in support of Gaza aid flotilla
Italy’s largest union has called a general strike for Friday in protest at the treatment of a flotilla seeking to bring aid to Gaza, it said on Wednesday.

Protests were also being held in a number of Italian cities late on Wednesday, including in Naples, where demonstrators halted train traffic at the main station after reports that some 20 unidentified vessels were seen approaching the international flotilla.

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2h ago (19:20 GMT)
A lot of countries interested in flotilla safety

By Nour Odeh

Reporting from Amman, Jordan

Al Jazeera is reporting from Amman, Jordan, because it has been banned from Israel and the occupied West Bank.

This is the largest humanitarian flotilla that that has ever been organised. And the kind of people, the kind of activists that were involved, is also unprecedented.

You have international lawyers, you have journalists, you have members of European Parliament, you have members of national parliaments in Europe, several nationalities from around the globe, from the United States, from South America, from Europe, from Asia, from the Arab world, and the Muslim world.

So you have a lot of countries interested in the safety and well-being of those aboard.

There isn’t any country that supports the blockade on Gaza, at least in rhetoric; only the United States seems to find ways to explain or excuse this blockade, which is considered and has been pronounced illegal by the International Court of Justice on several occasions.

Israel is impeding the entry of food, medicine, and vital supplies [into Gaza]. It’s even impeding the entry of critical supplies for children who are severely malnourished.

The aid on board could potentially save the lives of children who are dying of engineered starvation.

2h ago (19:15 GMT)
Houthi
Israel, Sumud Flotilla release videos of communications as interception begins
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has released a video purportedly showing an Israeli navy officer telling the flotilla to change its course to the Israeli port of Ashdod “where the aid will undergo a security inspection” before being transferred to Gaza.

The Global Sumud Flotilla released its own video showing a response from steering committee member Thiago Avila.

“You say that we are entering an active warzone. You are saying that we are entering a place where you are committing war crimes,” Avila said. “This is against international law. Once again, the International Court of Justice made a provisional ruling that any attempt to hinder a humanitarian mission to Gaza is prohibited by international law, and [the flotilla] is complying with the request to make you accountable for the crime of genocide.”

“It is our moral duty to refuse any attempt of an occupying force to control humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza who have … the right to control their own borders,” he added. “Therefore, we do not recognise you as a legitimate agent to bring aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza.”