The Israeli Occupation’s Attack on the “Fleet of Steadfastness” in International Waters Is an Act of Maritime Piracy and a Crime Against Humanity That Requires Urgent Action to Protect Activists and Stop the Genocide in Gaza
Date: October 2, 2025
Press Release
The Israeli Occupation’s Attack on the “Fleet of Steadfastness” in International Waters Is an Act of Maritime Piracy and a Crime Against Humanity That Requires Urgent Action to Protect Activists and Stop the Genocide in Gaza
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the heinous act of maritime piracy perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces against the “Fleet of Steadfastness” in international waters. The attack involved besieging the ships, assaulting them through flooding, disabling communication systems, and arresting activists, journalists, and international figures, before forcibly towing the ships to Ashdod Port.
ICSPR affirms that this assault constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the law of the sea. It is a full-fledged act of piracy and an organized form of state terrorism aimed at preventing international solidarity, silencing free voices, and obstructing global grassroots efforts to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid amid ongoing genocide and systematic starvation.
ICSPR holds the occupying authorities fully responsible for the lives and safety of the activists and solidarity participants. It considers their continued detention or exposure to danger an international crime that requires accountability and punishment.
ICSPR welcomes the international condemnations, protests, and popular movements that have spread across cities worldwide in rejection of this barbaric crime. It calls for the continuation of popular and political pressure through demonstrations in front of Israeli and U.S. embassies, and for the expansion of grassroots demands leading to global civil disobedience against genocide, blockade, starvation, and the detention of international solidarity activists.
ICSPR calls on the International Criminal Court and relevant international bodies to urgently open an investigation into this crime and hold the Israeli occupation leaders and soldiers accountable for these heinous violations.
ICSPR also demands urgent efforts to ensure the immediate release of the detained activists, protect those still en route before being attacked, and intensify pressure on governments to boycott and impose sanctions on the Israeli occupation state.
