The Blogs: Law, Lies, and the Gaza Flotilla

The Gaza Flotilla and the Law: Israel Acts, Hamas Would Kill

When a group of activists once again set sail in 2025 towards Gaza, waving the flag of “humanitarian aid”, the world’s cameras were waiting. Among them, Greta Thunberg accused Israel of “violating international waters” after the Israeli Navy intercepted the flotilla and redirected it to the port of Ashdod.

But let’s pause for a moment and look not through emotions, but through international law and moral reality.

The San Remo Manual: What the Law Actually Says

The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994) is the legal framework governing naval operations in times of armed conflict. It is recognized by the United Nations, NATO, and international courts as customary law.

It explicitly allows a naval blockade, provided:

It is declared and notified publicly.
It is applied impartially (no exceptions for specific ships or countries).
It does not aim to starve civilians but to prevent the transport of weapons and military materials.

Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza meets all these conditions. It was declared in 2009, following years of rocket attacks launched from Gaza after Israel’s complete withdrawal in 2005. Its sole purpose: to prevent Iranian and Hezbollah weapons from reaching Hamas, a terrorist organization sworn to Israel’s destruction.

Under the San Remo Manual, Israel has the full right to intercept and detain vessels attempting to breach this blockade, even in international waters, if they have reasonable grounds to believe the ships intend to break the blockade.

So, when the flotilla ignored repeated Israeli warnings to change course and dock at Ashdod where their cargo could have been inspected and, if legitimate, delivered to Gaza through authorized channels, Israel acted completely within international law.

The Reality Behind the “Aid”

Once again, when the flotilla boats were searched, there was no real humanitarian aid on board, no medicine, no food, no medical supplies. Just activists chasing headlines. Their mission was political, not humanitarian.

This is why the San Remo Manual exists: to separate lawful activism from dangerous provocations that risk escalating conflicts.

If the Situation Were Reversed

Now imagine, just for a second, the opposite scenario.
Imagine a group of Israeli peace activists sailing towards the coast of Gaza, without permission, without coordination, and ignoring Hamas’s orders to stop.

What would have happened?

There would be no polite radio warnings, no safe escort to port, and certainly no international lawyers checking the legality of the blockade.
They would have been arrested, interrogated, beaten or worse.

Israel, in contrast, intercepted, detained, and then repatriated all foreign activists safely to their countries of origin.
No torture. No execution. No “disappearance.”
That’s the moral difference between a democracy that upholds international law and a terror regime that thrives on chaos and death.

Greta, Read Before You Speak

It’s easy to stand on a stage and accuse Israel of “violating international waters.” It sounds powerful. It gets applause.
But it’s not true.
Every lawyer, every naval expert, and every honest journalist knows that Israel’s actions fall squarely within the San Remo Manual.

What Greta Thunberg and her circle fail to mention is that Hamas is the one violating international law every single day, by targeting civilians, using human shields, and stealing aid meant for its own people.

If she truly cared about human rights, she would demand that Hamas stop building tunnels with UN cement, stop launching rockets from schools, and stop using its people as pawns in a propaganda war.

Israel: The Only Lawful Actor in a Lawless Region

The 2025 flotilla is not the first, and it won’t be the last. But each time, Israel proves one thing clearly:
Even under attack, even under lies and slander, it acts with restraint, legality, and humanity.

Because in the end, the blockade is not against Gazans but it’s against Hamas.
And while the world tweets its outrage, Israel quietly does what it must: protect life.

Truth matters. Law matters.
And Israel, once again, stood on the side of both.