UPDATE 2 – Arab protesters decry Israeli attack on international aid flotilla heading for Gaza

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By Betul Yilmaz and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Hundreds demonstrated in some Arab countries Thursday to denounce an Israeli attack on an international aid flotilla sailing to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

In Tripoli, scores of Libyans gathered in Algeria Square in the capital to condemn the Israeli attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, including the Libyan ship Omar Al-Mukhtar, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

Protesters waved banners and chanted slogans in support of the Gaza aid mission.

The Omar Al-Mukhtar set sail about 10 days ago toward international waters to join the flotilla and was equipped with an intensive care unit to provide medical services to participants.

In Mauritania, hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the US Embassy in Nouakchott to condemn the Israeli attack on the convoy.

They decried the assault as a “violation of international law and piracy,” and held the US responsible for any harm done to the activists aboard the flotilla, an Anadolu reporter said.

Demonstrators urged the Mauritanian government to intervene to protect Mauritanian citizens aboard the flotilla.

Mauritanian national Mohamed Vall Mohmeden was aboard the Deir Yassin boat, one of the very first boats that was attacked by the Israeli forces, according to the flotilla tracker.

Syrian protesters also staged a rally in the capital Damascus to show solidarity with the aid flotilla.

According to an Anadolu reporter, the rally was staged in al-Hijaz Square in central Damascus to express support for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya said his country is closely monitoring the situation of detained nationals aboard the aid flotilla.

Yahya told the state news agency KUNA that his ministry “is exerting all possible efforts to ensure the safety of the citizens and is working for their immediate release.”

The top diplomat stressed that ensuring the safety of the Kuwaiti citizens is “a top priority.”

According to the official flotilla tracker, three Kuwaiti nationals were aboard the international aid convoy, two of whom were detained following an Israeli attack on their vessel, Spectre.

Israeli naval forces attacked 42 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla since late Wednesday and detained more than 450 activists aboard, according to organizers.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail late August to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza. It marked the first time in years that dozens of ships have sailed together toward Gaza and managed to approach the enclave this closely, which has been under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years.

Israel tightened the siege further this March by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of disease.