Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Indonesia, along with 12 other countries, has condemned Israel's interception last week of the Global Sumud aid flotilla bound for Gaza and the subsequent detention of humanitarian activists in international waters, calling the move a violation of international law.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia, Turkey, Jordan, Malaysia, as well as non-Muslim-majority ones like Brazil, Spain and South Africa denounced "in the strongest terms" what they described as an "assault" on the civilian ships that make up the flotilla.
"The Israeli attacks against the vessels and the unlawful detention of humanitarian activists in international waters constitute flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law," the ministers said in the statement posted on X by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
The ministers noted that the flotilla is a peaceful initiative aimed at drawing worldwide attention to Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis, following Israel's continued blockade of aid to the strip and military bombardment since October 2023 in what a United Nations commission concluded last year amounted to genocide.
More than 50 boats of the Global Sumud flotilla departed on April 12 from France, Spain and Italy, marking its second attempt to try to break the Israeli blockade to deliver aid after the first was intercepted by Israel in October 2025.
Israeli naval forces intercepted parts of the flotilla in international waters off the island of Crete in Greece on April 30, detaining around 175 activists from over 20 boats, according to organizers and Israeli authorities.
Almost all the activists were later released and either taken to a hospital in Crete or flown out to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 1, said Greek and Turkish officials. Organizers of the flotilla said their equipment had been smashed by Israeli forces, AFP reported.
However, two activists, Brazilian national Thiago Avila and Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek, are currently still in Israeli custody.
An Israeli court extended the detention of the two activists until Sunday pending the police's investigations into allegations of them "assisting the enemy during wartime" as well as "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization", Reuters reported.
The pair's lawyers then filed an appeal against what they deemed an "unlawful" and abusive state of detention, but it was rejected.
The ministers in their joint statement expressed concern over the safety of the activists and urged Israeli authorities to release them immediately.
The UN human rights office has previously called on Wednesday for Israel to "immediately and unconditionally release" Abu Keshek and Avila, saying the pair are still being held without charge and stressing that "it is not a crime" to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-joins-international-condemnation-of-gaza-flotilla-interception