HANDALA: Forcibly Removed from International Waters by Israel
On the night of July 26-27, 2025, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition‘s vessel Handala was violently intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces about 100km west of Gaza. All 21 international crew members, including journalists and lawmakers, were detained. Adalah, a legal rights organisation, reported that Israeli naval ships towed the vessel to Ashdod, marking a significant breach of international law. The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 and the International Criminal Court Act 2001, urging UK authorities to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, led by Vice Admiral David Saar Salama.
Yesterday, Adalah’s legal team met with 17 of the 21 detained activists at Ashdod Port or an Israeli police station, reporting that all are in stable condition. Israel is treating the volunteers’ custody as unlawful entry, despite their forcible removal from international waters. They face two options: agree to ‘voluntary deportation’ or remain in detention and face a tribunal regarding their deportation.
SOS videos from each of the Handala’s kidnapped crew members were released on The Freedom. Flotila portal. This is the SOS message from our friend, US National Frank Joseph Romano, a retired assistant tenured professor of international law and literature at the Université Paris Nanterre, which has filed with the ICC, on behalf of the people of Palestine, a complaint for war crimes. (Source: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/YouTube)
The complaint targets military and regime officials who may have facilitated the assault. The Hind Rajab Foundation demands their identification, interrogation, and prosecution under UK law if evidence supports it. At the time of the incident, the Handala was about 49 nautical miles off Gaza, carrying 21 unarmed civilians, including British humanitarian volunteer Chloé Fiona Ludden, French MEP Emma Fourreau, French National Assembly member Gabrielle Cathala, Jewish-American activist Jacob Berger, and various journalists, lawyers, and aid workers. All passengers were unlawfully detained and taken to Israel, with their humanitarian cargo, including baby formula and medical supplies, seized. Communication was cut off after Israeli forces boarded. As a British-flagged vessel, the Handala falls under UK jurisdiction, making the seizure and arrest in international waters a violation of British law. This act breaches the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Fourth Geneva Convention, undermining International Court of Justice orders for unhindered humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza. The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on UK authorities to investigate the operation and interrogate all 21 individuals on board, particularly British nationals.
Among the 21 crew members of the Handala, these are the names of the individuals who are still detained by Israel. Huwaida Arraf and Bob Suberi, two US crew members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla humanitarian vessel Handala, were released yesterday.
• Braedon Peluso (US),
• Robert Martin (Australia),
• Tania “Tan” Safi (Australia),
• Justine Kempf (France),
• Emma Fourreau (France-Sweden),
• Antonio La Picirella (Italy) (due to depart today)
• Christian Smalls (US),
• Chloé Fiona Ludden (UK-France),
• Sergio Toribio Sanchez (Spain),
• Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway),
• Hatem Aouini (Tunisia),
• Santiago González Vallejo (Spain)
Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, who was detained in Israel with other members of the Madleen, posted a video on X of the moment the Israeli occupation forces illegally intercepted the Handala in international waters.
The Handala has just been illegally intercepted by the Zionist entity of Israel while carrying baby formula to starving children pic.twitter.com/2awEkXXLwp
— Thiago Ávila | Gaza Freedom Flotilla (@thiagoavilabr) July 26, 2025
The Handala case illustrates a broader initiative to criminalise humanitarian aid and stifle civilian support for Gaza under military pretexts. The Handala attack is nothing short of an assault on aid workers, civilians, international law, human dignity, and accountability…
IMAGE: Handala’ arriving at the port of Malmö, Sweden, on May 8, 2024.(Source: Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP, file)
Hind Rajab Foundation reports on Israeli Assault on Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel, Handala…
HRF Files Criminal Complaint in the UK Over Israeli Attack on Handala
The Hind Rajab Foundation has today (28 July) filed a formal criminal complaint with the UK Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit regarding the Israeli military assault on the British-flagged humanitarian vessel Handala in international waters on the night of 26–27 July 2025
The complaint, lodged under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 and the International Criminal Court Act 2001, urges UK authorities to open an immediate investigation into grave breaches of international law and war crimes committed by Israeli forces.
The assault was carried out by the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, under the command structure of the Israeli Navy, whose Commander-in-Chief is Vice Admiral David Saar Salama. The complaint also targets officials within the Israeli military and government who may have authorised, planned, or facilitated the operation. The Hind Rajab Foundation is calling for these individuals to be identified, investigated, and—where evidence permits—prosecuted or arrested under UK jurisdiction.
At the time of the raid, the Handala was sailing approximately 49 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, carrying 21 unarmed civilians, including:
- Chloé Fiona Ludden, a British humanitarian volunteer
- Emma Fourreau, Member of the European Parliament (France)
- Gabrielle Cathala, Member of the French National Assembly
- Jacob Berger, a Jewish-American activist
- Journalists, lawyers, and aid workers from 12 countries
All were detained without legal basis and forcibly taken to Israel.
The ship’s humanitarian cargo—baby formula, medical supplies, and food—was confiscated, and communications were cut immediately after Israeli forces boarded the vessel.
The Handala is a British-flagged vessel, and as such, constitutes an extension of UK sovereign jurisdiction. The seizure of the ship and arrest of its passengers in international waters constitutes an assault on British legal territory, a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It also directly defies the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, issued in early 2024, which require the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Hind Rajab Foundation is requesting the following from UK authorities:
- Immediate opening of a criminal investigation into the operation;
- Identification and questioning of all 21 passengers, especially UK nationals;
- Legal action against Vice Admiral David Saar Salama, Shayetet 13 commanders, and any political or military officials responsible;
- Placement of suspects on watchlists and preparation of arrest warrants for anyone who may enter the UK;
- Coordination with Interpol, the International Criminal Court, and UN mechanisms to ensure international accountability.
This case follows the pattern of previous illegal interceptions, including the recent attack on the Madleen and the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid. The Handala incident is not isolated—it is part of a systematic campaign to criminalise humanitarian aid and suppress civilian solidarity with Gaza under the guise of military enforcement.
The Hind Rajab Foundation will not relent.
We are committed to exposing and confronting every act of illegality and brutality carried out under the cloak of state power. The attack on the Handala is an attack not only on aid workers and civilians, but on international law, human dignity, and the very principle of accountability.
Justice must be done. The perpetrators must face consequences.
See more news from The Hind Rajab Foundation
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