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Short answer
Israel has every right under international law to stop Gaza-bound flotillas.A blockade lawfully declared during armed conflict can be enforced even in international waters — that’s straight from the San Remo Manual (1994). The UN’s Palmer Report after the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident confirmed Israel’s Gaza blockade as legal. These so-called “aid” flotillas aren’t about relief, they’re Hamas-aligned PR stunts, often carrying little or no real aid while bypassing official delivery channels. In wartime, that makes them a direct security threat. Intercepting them isn’t just legal, it’s essential for Israel’s defense.
Long answer
Israeli naval forces maintain a continuous presence at sea and are legally entitled to intercept ships approaching Gaza, even in international waters. This authority is based on the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994), which defines the rules for maritime warfare.
Article 67 allows the interception or attack of any vessel suspected of breaching a blockade if, after warning, it refuses to stop or resists visit, search, or capture. Enforcement may occur on the high seas, far beyond the 12-mile limit, and is prohibited only within the territorial waters of a neutral state such as Egypt, which Israel does not enter.
Articles 95–104 authorize belligerent forces to visit and search neutral merchant ships on the high seas to verify cargo and destination, while Articles 98 and 102 require that humanitarian relief be inspected and routed through designated channels. International law therefore permits aid delivery to a blockaded area only through approved ports under neutral supervision. Attempting to breach a lawful blockade is not one of those mechanisms.
The UN Secretary-General’s Palmer Report (2011), issued after the Mavi Marmara incident, confirmed that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was legal and a legitimate security measure to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas. The independent Turkel Commission reached the same conclusion, affirming that Israel’s enforcement of the blockade, including interceptions on the high seas, complied with international law.
Since the Mavi Marmara affair, no international body, not the UN, the United States, or the European Union, has launched any investigation questioning the blockade’s legality. This silence effectively acknowledges the legitimacy of Israel’s actions.
In every case, flotilla organizers could have delivered aid through safe, pre-approved channels but deliberately chose confrontation instead. Their aim has not been humanitarian assistance but political provocation, to delegitimize Israel and generate global publicity for Hamas’s narrative.
The use of celebrity figures such as Greta Thunberg in 2025 reflects this strategy: to attract media attention rather than deliver real aid. In practice, inspections of past flotillas revealed little or no genuine humanitarian cargo, underscoring that their primary function has been symbolic and political rather than relief-oriented.
Intercepting such vessels is therefore not an act of aggression, but a lawful and necessary measure of self-defense, fully consistent with international law.
