Four Gaza Flotilla activists deported by Israel

Four Italian citizens have been deported from Israel after being detained by Israeli authorities when boats sail in a fleet bearing assistance for gas, have been intercepted, said the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

More than 470 people have been detained, according to Israeli police. The ministry said the authorities were in the process of deporting others.

The deportations come when the last boat of the global fleet of Sumud (GSF) was caught by Israeli authorities on Friday morning.

GSF called Israel’s intercept illegal as Israel describes the actions of the fleet as “provocation”.

Blocking the fleet has caused protests around the world, including a common strike in Italy.

The first boats were stopped on Wednesday at about 70 nautical miles from the Gaza coast in international waters and others. Israel polishes this area, but there is no jurisdiction there.

Israel said his fleet told the boats to change the course as they “approach an active battle zone and violate legal naval blockade” while the GSF said the captures were “illegal”.

In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said: “Four Italian citizens have already been deported. The rest are in the process of deportation. Israel is willing to terminate this procedure as quickly as possible.”

He added that all detainees were safe and in good health. GSF claims that many activists have been attacked with a water cannon while their boats have been caught.

The foreign ministry’s statement is mentioned by the presence of Swedish activist Greta Tunberg on one of the boats, but did not give further details about her status.

In a statement on Friday morning, GSF said: “Over 38 hours, Israeli occupation naval forces illegally captured all 42 of our ships – he entered the humanitarian aid, volunteers and determination to violate Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza.”

It states that the last of his boats, Marinet, was illegally caught at 10:29 local time on Friday, approximately 42.5 nautical miles of gas in international waters.

“Live flows and communications are shortened and the condition of the participants and the crew remains unconfirmed,” GSF said.

“This is an illegal attack on unarmed humanitors. We are calling on governments and international institutions to demand their immediate safety and release,” she added.

In a vest from Marinet, one passenger was seen holding a piece of paper on the camera, reading “We see a ship!” Shortly before 10:00 local time (8:00 BST).

About half an hour later, boats filled with armed troops carrying tactical equipment pulled along Marinet, with a much larger warship, visible in the background.

The latest marinet data, through the Flotilla tracking website, put it at 43 nautical miles (80 km) from the Gaza coast at 10:07 – shortly before they get on board.

The bigger part of the vessels sail as part of the fleet are not visible on ship tracking sites reviewed by BBC Cerify.

Five of the ships captured Thursday have already been moored at Israel Ashdod Naval Base, showing a website to track marine traffic on Friday morning.

The BBC has asked Israel’s defense forces (IDF) whether he plans to return the ships to their owners and how long will those who have been detained.

GSF Flotilla sails for gas from Spain at the end of last month, with other boats joining Tunisia and other ports later, GSF reported.

Protests in support of the fleet and against the Gaza War have broken up all over the world as the boats approached the strip, in countries, including Spain, Italy, Colombia and Argentina.

Additional reporting by Matt Murphy and Richard Ervine-Brown