An Israeli navy 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 from a distributed video. Sumud Global Flotilla/handout via REUTERS
Edhi Foundation President Faisal Edhi claimed Monday that Israeli forces arrested his son, Saad Edhi, and other volunteers after intercepting the Global Sumud flotilla as the mission was transporting aid, including medicine and food, for victims in Gaza.
In a post on Meta, Faisal said that around 1 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time, Israeli forces intervened in the Gaza humanitarian flotilla near Cyprus in international waters and arrested his son and other volunteers.
“They were in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to arrest them. We don’t know where they took them,” he said.
Faisal called on the federal government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take legal action against Israeli forces for the detention of a Pakistani citizen.
“I urge FO to raise this issue with the UN and the international community regarding the detention of a Pakistani citizen,” he added.
He added that the UN and the international community must put an end to the illegal actions of Israeli forces against civilians and work to end the genocide in Gaza, by providing urgent assistance to the population.
At the time of the Israeli operation, Saad recorded a video in which scenes of the Israeli army taking control of the flotillas and arresting the workers were captured.
Forty-five years ago, Abdul Sattar Edhi himself was similarly arrested by the Israeli army in 1980 while traveling to Gaza with relief materials intended to help the Palestinians.
Talk to The Express PK Press ClubFaisal said the aid workers were arrested near Greece in international waters, calling the act illegal. He added that the government should raise its voice against this action at international forums.
He further stated that there is still no information on Saad’s whereabouts or where the Israeli military has transferred the detained aid workers. However, more information on Saad and aid workers from other countries is expected to become available on Tuesday.
Organizers of a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza said Israeli forces “intercepted 28 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, while the remaining 26 vessels continued to sail toward the enclave.”
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X that it would “not allow any violation of the legal naval blockade of Gaza.”
Ships from the global Sumud flotilla set sail for the third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Live video showed military vessels approaching the ships on Monday.
“Military ships 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 demand safe passage for our lawful, non-violent humanitarian mission.”
RED ALERT!
Military ships are currently intercepting our fleet and OIF forces are boarding the first of our ships in broad daylight.
We demand safe passage for our legal, 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) May 18, 2026
The group said 426 people were participating in the flotilla of 54 ships from 39 countries. He named 44 Turks among those on board the intercepted ships, some 463 kilometers from Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and immediately backtrack.”
A Turkish activist aboard the flotilla’s L’Arq ship said he did not fear interception by Israeli forces, but expressed concern for those already captured, adding that his boat’s crew expected to be intercepted as soon as it approached Gaza.
Read this: UN special rapporteur urges Mediterranean states to protect global Sumud flotilla
“We don’t know where they are, we don’t know how many of them were actually taken,” said Ahmet Soylemez, speaking aboard the boat. A live tracker on the flotilla’s website showed that L’Arq was approximately 215 nautical miles from Gaza.
Turkey wants its nationals to return safely
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli intervention as a “new act of piracy”, adding that Ankara was taking the necessary measures to ensure the safe return of Turkish citizens aboard the flotilla, in coordination with other relevant countries.
“Israel must immediately cease its intervention and unconditionally release the detained flotilla participants,” he said in a statement, calling on the international community to urgently adopt a “united and resolute” stance against Israel.
The previous flotilla left Spain on April 12. But Israeli forces intercepted ships from the group, taking more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists to Crete and arresting two others in Israel.
Learn more: Gaza flotilla organizers say 211 activists ‘kidnapped’, 22 ships intercepted by Israel
Last October, the Israeli army stopped another flotilla assembled by the same organization, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants.
Palestinians and international aid agencies, as well as Turkey and several other countries, say supplies arriving in Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire agreed in October that included guarantees of increased aid.
Most of Gaza’s more than two million residents have been displaced, with many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched in open areas, along roadsides or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents. Its foreign ministry said more than 1.58 million tonnes of humanitarian aid and thousands of tonnes of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025.
