The Israeli navy has boarded an aid ship bound for Gaza, crewed by a group of activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition who were attempting to break Israel's blockade of the territory.
Video of activist and lawyer Huwaida Arraf speaking to the Israeli navy shortly before the troops boarded was posted to the group's Instagram account.
Among those on board are two Australians, Tan Safi and Robert Martin, who have called on Australians to put pressure on the federal government to sanction Israel.
"The 'Handala' was operating under international law, outside of Israeli jurisdiction, carrying parliamentarians, labour leaders, journalists, lawyers, and organisers," the group wrote in a social media post.
An online tracking tool set up to plot the Handala's course showed its position as roughly 50 kilometres from the Egyptian coast and 100 kilometres west of Gaza when it was intercepted, which would place the ship well outside Israel's territorial waters.
Israel says the ship's crew is safe and being taken to the shore, however, those on board had previously vowed to go on a hunger strike if they were boarded and detained by Israeli forces.
ABC NEWS provides around the clock coverage of news events as they break in Australia and abroad. It's news when you want it, from Australia's most trusted news organisation.
For more from ABC NEWS, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
Watch more ABC NEWS content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1
Go deeper on our ABC NEWS In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
Like ABC NEWS on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au
Follow ABC NEWS on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au
Follow ABC NEWS on X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/abcnews
Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
#ABCNEWS #ABCNEWSAustralia
--
Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation
--
Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dYXDJVFjrU