TEHRAN — The Mediterranean Sea was transformed into a site of kidnapping and brutality as Israeli naval forces violently and unlawfully intercepted the Spring 2026 Global Sumud mission, subjecting humanitarian volunteers to what eyewitnesses describe as systematic torture.

The assault, which occurred in the early hours of April 30 near the Greek island of Crete, targeted a civilian fleet of 58 vessels carrying medical supplies and baby formula intended to alleviate the starvation of the Gaza Strip.

According to harrowing testimony from participants released at Ierapetra Port, the screams of Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish national of Palestinian origin, echoed through the Israeli military vessel Nahshon after he was forcibly separated from his colleagues.

Abukeshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila were detained on the ship as it departed Greek territorial waters for occupied Palestine, despite urgent legal interventions aimed at preventing their unlawful transfer.

Of the 175 civilians abducted from 22 boarded vessels, 36 required hospitalization for injuries sustained during the violent military boarding, which involved commandos, helicopters, and high-pressure water cannons under a total communications blackout.

This act of maritime piracy is a lethal extension of the 19-year blockade that has turned Gaza into a landscape of weaponized famine. By targeting a specialized medical fleet, Israel is sabotaging a vital humanitarian lifeline for a population where 60 percent of children face acute food poverty.

The raid mirrors a similar 2025 assault where hundreds of activists, including Greta Thunberg and Mandla Mandela, were detained in Israeli facilities that have long been criticized as centers of systemic abuse.

The global response has been visceral. Tehran condemned the raid as a strike against the “awakened conscience of humanity,” and Turkey’s parliament unanimously branded the intervention a war crime.

From Barcelona to Rome, thousands have marched to denounce the perceived complicity of European authorities, particularly Greece, in failing to halt the vessel.