Documents indicate Hamas's 'direct involvement' in Gaza flotilla, Israel's foreign ministry says
Documents found in Gaza indicate that Hamas was backing a flotilla carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists, Israel’s foreign ministry said. The flotilla was intercepted on Wednesday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is made up of dozens of vessels loaded with humanitarian aid, sailing toward Gaza in an effort to break what the group calls “Israel’s illegal siege.” Israel has made it clear that it would not allow the flotilla to “enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade,” according to Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar. While the group said their goal is to deliver aid, the foreign ministry says the activists are “not interested in aid, but in provocation.”
The newly released documents “show a direct link between the flotilla leaders and the Hamas terrorist organization,” the ministry said in a news release .
Israel alleges that a wing of the Hamas movement, the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which is subordinate to the main terrorist organization, has played a role in coordinating the flotilla.
Members of the PCPA include “high-ranking well-known Hamas operatives,” the ministry said, some of which are flotilla leaders. That includes the head of the PCPA’s Hamas sector in the United Kingdom and an operative from Spain, both named in the documents discovered by Israel.
Dozens of ships that are part of the flotilla are owned by the CEO of a Spanish front company called Cyber Neptune. The CEO is a “Hamas-aligned PCPA operative,” the ministry said. “Thus, these ships are secretly owned by Hamas.”
A spokesperson for the flotilla, Maria Elena Delia, told Italian news agency Ansa that the Israeli findings were “propaganda” and dismissed the claims. She said the documents should be handed over for independent verification.
The PCPA was deemed a terrorist organization by Israel in 2021 due to its connection to Hamas. According to the foreign ministry, it “operates under the pretense of civilian cover and is responsible, on behalf of Hamas, for mobilizing actions against Israel, including violent demonstrations, marches against Israel, and demonstration and provocation flotillas.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the ministry said several vessels were “safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port. Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”
Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
Greta and her friends are safe and healthy. pic.twitter.com/PA1ezier9s
As of Thursday morning, only one vessel remained and “if it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.
In a news release, the flotilla group said an estimated 443 volunteers were taken from their vessels. It called the move an “unlawful abduction” by Israel. The group is being taken to Israel, where the deportation process to Europe would begin, another post by Israel’s foreign ministry said on X on Thursday.
In an Instagram post, an account for the flotilla said their “resolve is only strengthened” after being intercepted.
“Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have all offered and continue to offer the flotilla a way to peacefully deliver any aid they might have to Gaza,” said the foreign ministry on X, but the flotilla refused.
Before intercepting the flotilla, the Israeli Navy asked them to change course and later informed them that they were “approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful naval blockade.”
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