The flotilla, composed of 44 boats carrying nearly 500 activists, parliamentarians, journalists, aid workers and crew, attempted to bypass Israel’s blockade and deliver food, medicine and other essential items. Israeli forces intercepted the vessels in the early hours of Wednesday as they neared Gaza.
Reports from flotilla members said Israeli forces attacked with water cannons, drone strikes and communications jamming before boarding and detaining the crew. Detainees were taken to Ketziot prison in the Negev Desert, a facility rights groups have accused of torturing Palestinian prisoners.
News of the interception sparked global protests. In London, demonstrators regrouped at Parliament Square at 5:30 p.m., continuing late into the night. Police kettled crowds on Downing Street, separated groups and struck demonstrators, according to Maktoob, which reported violent clashes and assaults on elderly protesters.
Police, who far outnumbered demonstrators, said kettling was necessary to prevent violence but declined further comment.
During the demonstrations, protesters expressed hope for the Marinette, the flotilla’s final boat, which had evaded Israeli warships. The vessel was intercepted 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza in the early hours of October 3. Journalist Ahmed Eldin reported that activists aboard would be charged with attempting to enter Israel illegally.
On October 3, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud condemned the protests as “un-British” and “dishonourable,” linking them to heightened tensions following a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester. Two people were killed in that attack — one from a stab wound inflicted by the assailant and another shot by police. Authorities and major newspapers have drawn parallels between pro-Palestinian demonstrations and the synagogue attack, though no evidence has surfaced connecting the assailant to the Palestine movement.
“To people thinking of going on protests this weekend: take a step back, imagine it was you, and just give this community a chance to breathe and process what has happened,” Mahmoud said. “Just because you have a freedom doesn’t mean you have to use it all the time.”
The Metropolitan Police have urged organisers to cancel the upcoming “Defend Our Juries” protest against the ban on the activist group Palestine Action, scheduled for October 4 in Trafalgar Square. The force said resources were needed to protect Jewish communities after the synagogue attack.
“At a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of Jewish communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square in support of a terrorist organization,” the Met said.
“By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from” Jewish communities, it added.
The protest is set to go ahead, with organisers rejecting the police’s position.
“Don’t arrest us then,” the group posted on X. “We are causing no obstruction. We are committing no act of violence. […] We are peacefully protesting against UK complicity in genocide. Deal with actual terrorism.”
