Contact has allegedly been lost with the Women’s Flotilla Boat to Gaza that has been sailing towards Gaza with the intention of illegally breaching Israel’s maritime blockade on the terrorist-run region.
No humanitarian aid is involved in this endeavor; it’s a purely ideological maneuver, designed to make a statement, nothing more.
The ‘GazaFFlotilla’ Twitter user who has been tracking the progress of the Gaza-bound all-female flotilla vessel “Zaytouna” tweeted that all contact was lost with the ship as of 2:50 pm local time.
A spokesperson for the group said at around 4:45 pm Israel time that the Zaytouna-Oliva “is not under attack by the Israelis and is en route to Gaza.”
However, the vessel was on track to be intercepted by the Israeli Navy and redirected to Ashdod Port, though it was not clear at which point the Israeli authorities planned to draw the line.
On board the vessels is a group of approximately 15 women, including Mairead Maguire, a 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate from northern Ireland.
According to Israel’s Channel 2 television news, at 5 pm local time the vessel was less than 70 nautical miles (130 km) from the Gaza coast, about 10 hours away — 30 nautical miles closer than they were expected to reach, without interception by the Israeli Navy.