<article data-history-node-id="429520" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/francesca-albanese-says-states-navies-could-break-israels-siege-gaza" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/francesca-albanese-says-states-navies-could-break-israels-siege-gaza" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Francesca Albanese says states with navies could break Israel’s siege on Gaza but choose not to</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p data-end="724" data-start="475">Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has criticised the failure of states to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, where Israel faces accusations of genocide and deliberately starving civilians.</p> <p data-end="903" data-start="726">Pointing to the Global Sumud Flotilla, which has reached waters close to Gaza in small civilian boats, Albanese questioned why governments with powerful navies have not acted.</p> <p data-end="1143" data-start="905">“If citizens of the world, travelling in small and underresourced boats, have been able to get to within 60 nautical miles (111km) of Gaza in a flotilla, why states don’t break the blockade with their navies?” she wrote on social media.</p> <p data-end="1303" data-start="1145">“Is this the world we live in? No, we do not accept it,” Albanese added, before wishing the flotilla safe passage: “Go, go Flotilla! Sail safe. God’s wind.”</p> <center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">60 nautical miles? Wow.<br> <br> If ordinary citizens of the world, with small and underresourced boats can do that, why states don't break the blockade with their navies?<br> <br> Is this the world we live in? No, we do not accept it.<br> <br> Go, go Flotilla! Sail safe.<br> God's wind. <a href="https://t.co/sOjSBJNi87">https://t.co/sOjSBJNi87</a></p> — Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1973510217947299854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="429518" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/if-youre-just-joining-us-2" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/if-youre-just-joining-us-2" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">If you’re just joining us</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p data-end="644" data-start="533">In case you’re just joining us, here’s what happened overnight as Israel moved against the Gaza aid flotilla:</p> <ul data-end="3197" data-start="646"> <li data-end="861" data-start="646"> <p data-end="861" data-start="648">Israeli forces intercepted multiple boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla in the Mediterranean on Wednesday and took passengers to an Israeli port. The flotilla had set out to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.</p> </li> <li data-end="1074" data-start="863"> <p data-end="1074" data-start="865">Footage released by Israel’s foreign ministry and verified by Reuters showed climate activist Greta Thunberg surrounded by armed soldiers on one of the boats. She is the most high-profile passenger on board.</p> </li> <li data-end="1295" data-start="1076"> <p data-end="1295" data-start="1078">Israel’s foreign ministry wrote on X: “Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port. Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”</p> </li> <li data-end="1544" data-start="1297"> <p data-end="1544" data-start="1299">The flotilla, carrying food and medicine for Gaza, consisted of over 40 civilian vessels with around 500 people onboard, including parliamentarians, lawyers, and activists. It was about 70 nautical miles from Gaza when Israeli forces moved in.</p> </li> <li data-end="1771" data-start="1546"> <p data-end="1771" data-start="1548">Videos shared by passengers on Telegram showed individuals holding their passports, saying they had been abducted and taken to Israel against their will. They stressed the flotilla’s mission was peaceful and humanitarian.</p> </li> <li data-end="2028" data-start="1773"> <p data-end="2028" data-start="1775">Organisers condemned Israel’s “illegal” raid as a “war crime,” saying troops used aggressive tactics, including water cannon, but reported no casualties. They also said Israel disrupted their communications, including live camera feeds from the boats.</p> </li> <li data-end="2210" data-start="2030"> <p data-end="2210" data-start="2032">Israel said the flotilla was heading into an active combat zone and breaching a lawful blockade. Officials claimed aid could be transferred safely through established channels.</p> </li> <li data-end="2406" data-start="2212"> <p data-end="2406" data-start="2214">On Telegram, flotilla organisers reported that vessels named Spectre, Alma and Sirius, among others, were boarded in international waters. The fate of several passengers remains unclear.</p> </li> <li data-end="2572" data-start="2408"> <p data-end="2572" data-start="2410">Turkey’s foreign ministry described the Israeli “attack” as “an act of terror” that put civilian lives at risk. Demonstrations erupted across Italy in response.</p> </li> <li data-end="2866" data-start="2574"> <p data-end="2866" data-start="2576">Turkey said it had started efforts to secure the release of Turkish nationals and other detainees. Spain urged Israel to guarantee the rights and safety of the activists, while Ireland described the flotilla as “a peaceful mission to shine a light on a horrific humanitarian catastrophe.”</p> </li> <li data-end="3048" data-start="2868"> <p data-end="3048" data-start="2870">Ship tracking data indicated at least 13 vessels had been intercepted or halted by early Thursday. Organisers vowed to continue, saying the flotilla “will continue undeterred.”</p> </li> <li data-end="3197" data-start="3050"> <p data-end="3197" data-start="3052">Thirty boats were still on course towards Gaza, with organisers reporting they were 46 nautical miles from their destination early on Thursday.</p> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </article>

On the scene of a brutal ICE arrest in Worcester, Massachusetts.