An Israeli naval boat intercepts the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza in an attempt to deliver aid at sea on May 18, 2026, in this screenshot taken from a handout video. Global Sumud Flotilla/Handout via REUTERS
Edhi Foundation chairman Faisal Edhi claimed on Monday that Israeli forces had detained his son, Saad Edhi, along with other volunteers after intercepting the global Sumud flotilla as the mission carried aid, including medicine and food, to victims in Gaza.
In a message on Meta, Faisal said that around 13:00 Pakistan Standard Time Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza aid flotilla near Cyprus in international waters and arrested his son along with other volunteers.
“They were in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to arrest them. We do not know where they have taken them,” he said.
Faisal appealed to the federal government and the foreign ministry to take legal action against the Israeli forces for detaining a Pakistani national.
“I urge the FO to raise this issue with the UN and the international community regarding the detention of a Pakistani national,” he added.
He further said that the UN and the international community must stop the Israeli forces’ illegal actions against civilians and work to end the genocide in Gaza and provide urgent aid to the people there.
At the time of the Israeli operation, Saad recorded a video capturing scenes of the Israeli military taking control of the flotilla boats and arresting the workers.
45 years ago, Abdul Sattar Edhi himself was arrested by the Israeli military in 1980 while traveling to Gaza with relief supplies to help Palestinians.
speaks to Express PakinomistFaisal said the aid workers were arrested near Greece in international waters, calling the action illegal. He added that the government should raise its voice against this act in international forums.
He further stated that there was still no information on Saad’s whereabouts or where the Israeli military has transferred the detained aid workers. However, it was expected that more information about Saad and the aid workers from other countries may emerge on Tuesday.
The organizers of a flotilla of aid vessels bound for Gaza said Israeli forces had intercepted 28 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, while the remaining 26 vessels continued to sail towards the enclave.
Earlier Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X that it “will not allow any breach of the legal naval blockade of Gaza”.
Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had sailed for the third time from southern Turkey on Thursday, after previous attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Live video showed military vessels approaching the vessels on Monday.
“Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and (Israeli) forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight,” the Global Sumud Flotilla initially said on X.
“We require safe passage for our lawful, non-violent humanitarian mission.”
RED ALARM!
Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and IOF forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight.
We require safe passage for our lawful, non-violent humanitarian mission. Governments must act now to stop these illegal acts or piracy aimed at… pic.twitter.com/4RmPuswZNo
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) 18 May 2026
The group said there were 426 people participating in the flotilla of 54 vessels from 39 countries. It named 44 Turks among those on the intercepted vessels, about 463 kilometers from Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and immediately return”.
A Turkish activist aboard the L’Arq vessel in the flotilla said he did not fear wiretapping by Israeli forces, but expressed concern for those already seized, adding that the crew of his boat expected wiretapping as soon as they got close to Gaza.
Read this: The UN Special Rapporteur urges Mediterranean states to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla
“We don’t know where they are, we don’t know how many of them were actually taken,” Ahmet Soylemez said, speaking aboard the boat. A live tracker on the flotilla’s website showed L’Arq to be about 215 nautical miles from Gaza.
Turkey seeks safe return of nationals
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli intervention as a “new act of piracy”, adding that Ankara was taking the necessary steps to ensure the safe return of Turkish citizens on board the flotilla in coordination with other relevant countries.
“Israel must immediately end its intervention and unconditionally release the flotilla participants detained,” it said in a statement, urging the international community to take a “united and resolute” stance against Israel as soon as possible.
The former flotilla departed Spain on 12 April. But Israeli forces intercepted vessels in that group and took more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists to Crete and detained two others in Israel.
Read more: Gaza flotilla organizers say 211 activists ‘kidnapped’, 22 vessels intercepted by Israel
Last October, Israel’s military stopped another flotilla assembled by the same organization, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants.
Palestinians and international aid agencies, along with Turkiye and several other countries, say supplies reaching Gaza remain insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.
Most of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, on roadsides or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, refuses to withhold supplies to its residents. Its foreign ministry said more than 1.58 million tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025.
