Overview
- Activists reported that Israel’s navy intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters near Cyprus and detained dozens of people, with activists saying 12 Canadians were among those taken.
- Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand directed officials to summon Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed and called the footage shared by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir deeply troubling and unacceptable.
- The circulated video shows activists kneeling with hands tied and Ben-Gvir saying they should be imprisoned, a clip Ottawa cited in its formal protest.
- Anand noted that Canada already has sanctioned Ben-Gvir and banned him from travel to Canada, and she said Ottawa has not yet received a response from the Israeli embassy to the summons.
- Flotilla missions to Gaza regularly raise legal and diplomatic questions about interceptions in international waters, and this incident is likely to prompt calls for consular access, independent reviews, and further diplomatic scrutiny.