ICSPR: Condemns the Maritime Piracy Crime Against the “Hanzala” Ship and the Arrest of Activists Onboard

Date: 27 jul 2025

Press Release

ICSPR: Condemns the Maritime Piracy Crime Against the “Hanzala” Ship and the Arrest of Activists Onboard

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the new Israeli piracy crime committed by Israeli occupation forces on Sunday morning, July 26, 2025, against the “Hanzala” ship while it was sailing in international waters. The ship carried 21 activists, including human rights defenders, peace and environmental advocates, and journalists, in addition to humanitarian aid designated for the besieged people of Gaza.

Israeli warboats surrounded the ship in open seas, cut communications, and then a special Israeli naval unit boarded the vessel. The activists were forced to raise their hands and surrender under threats, and then the ship was forcibly taken to the Ashdod port, as shown in the photos and videos broadcast from onboard the ship before communications were completely cut off, according to Israeli occupation statements.

The International Commission “ICSPR” expresses full solidarity with the brave activists aboard “Hanzala,” who represent the global human conscience in confronting Israeli policies of blockade, starvation, and genocide. They exemplify a humanitarian struggle to break the silence and international inaction.

The International Commission “ICSPR” confirms that this act constitutes a completed maritime piracy crime that clearly violates international humanitarian law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, representing a severe violation of human rights and a blatant challenge to the rulings of the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.

This assault coincides with the continued horrific crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza for the 660th consecutive day, during which over 75,000 individuals have been killed or gone missing, including thousands of children and women. More than 145,000 people have been injured, and over 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure and residential buildings have been destroyed. Famine, food, and medicine shortages have worsened, displacing 95% of Gaza’s population internally, in the context of a systematic policy aimed at partially or totally exterminating the population. This amounts to an act of genocide under the Genocide Convention of 1948.

In this regard, and while calling on the United Nations and world countries to condemn the maritime piracy crime targeting the “Hanzala” ship as a war crime under international law, the International Commission “ICSPR” records and demands the following:

1. The International Commission “ICSPR” demands that the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteurs, and the International Committee of the Red Cross ensure the revelation of the activists’ fate and work for their immediate release.

2. The International Commission “ICSPR” calls on the free people of the world to continue peaceful pressure and actions to stop the genocide, end the complete siege on Gaza, open humanitarian corridors without conditions, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and ensure the freedom of international organizations to operate and oversee the distribution of aid.

3. The International Commission “ICSPR” calls for the launching of more international freedom ships and other activities to stop the genocide, lift the siege, ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, expose Israeli crimes to the global public opinion, and reject practices of genocide and collective starvation.

4. The International Commission “ICSPR” calls on countries and international organizations, as well as free people worldwide, to pressure their governments to boycott the Israeli occupying state, impose international sanctions on it, and hold its leaders accountable before the International Criminal Court and international justice.