Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the Israeli army’s interception of the Global Freedom Flotilla and abduction of activists from boats carrying aid to Gaza.

A ministry statement published on X called out Israel’s “renewed aggression against the Global Freedom Flotilla in international waters, considering it a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian values, and maritime security, and a consolidation of the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip”.

The ministry affirmed that “the Israeli occupation’s ongoing crimes against the unarmed Palestinian people, including the intimidation of those in solidarity with their legitimate rights, will exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip”.

Qatar emphasised the necessity for “the international community to stand firmly in solidarity to compel the occupation to open the crossings, lift the illegal restrictions on the flow of aid, provide the necessary protection for the Palestinian people, and immediately and unconditionally release the activists it detained after taking control of the flotilla”.