Israeli forces detained Saad Edhi and other volunteers after intercepting Sumud Global Flotilla: Faisal Edhi

Edhi Foundation President Faisal Edhi alleged on Monday that Israeli forces had detained his son, Saad Edhi, along with other volunteers after intercepting the Sumud Global Flotilla as the mission was transporting aid, including medicine and food, to victims in Gaza.

In a message on Meta, Faisal said that around 1 pm Pakistan Standard Time, Israeli forces intervened in the Gaza aid flotilla near Cyprus in international waters and arrested his son along with other volunteers.

“They were in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to arrest them. We don’t know where they have been taken,” he said.

Faisal appealed to the federal government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take legal action against Israeli forces for detaining a Pakistani citizen.

“I urge FO to raise this issue with the UN and the international community regarding the detention of a Pakistani citizen,” he added.

He further said that the UN and the international community must stop the illegal actions of Israeli forces against civilians and work to end the genocide in Gaza, providing urgent assistance to the people there.

At the time of the Israeli operation, Saad was recording a video that captured scenes of the Israeli army taking control of the flotilla’s ships and arresting workers.

Forty-five years ago, Abdul Sattar Edhi himself was similarly arrested by the Israeli army in 1980 while traveling to Gaza with relief supplies to help the Palestinians.

talking to The express PAkGazetteFaisal said the aid workers were arrested near Greece in international waters and called the act illegal. He added that the government should raise its voice against this action in international forums.

He further stated that there was still no information on Saad’s whereabouts or where the Israeli army had transferred detained aid workers. However, more information about Saad and aid workers from other countries was expected to emerge on Tuesday.

Organizers of a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza said Israeli forces had intercepted 28 of their ships in the eastern Mediterranean, while the remaining 26 ships were still sailing toward the enclave.

Earlier on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry had said in X that it “will not allow any violation of the legitimate naval blockade on Gaza.”

Ships from the Sumud Global Flotilla set sail for the third time on Thursday from southern Turkiye, after Israel intercepted previous attempts to deliver aid to Gaza in international waters.

Live video showed military vessels approaching the ships on Monday.

“Military vessels are intercepting our fleet and (Israeli) forces are boarding the first of our ships in broad daylight,” Sumud Global Flotilla initially said in X.

“We demand safe passage for our legal and non-violent humanitarian mission.”

The group said there were 426 people participating in the flotilla of 54 ships from 39 countries. He named 44 Turks among those on board the intercepted ships, some 463 kilometers from Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and retreat immediately.”

A Turkish activist aboard the L’Arq ship in the flotilla said he did not fear being intercepted by Israeli forces, but expressed concern for those already captured, adding that his ship’s crew expected to be intercepted as soon as they approached Gaza.

Read this: UN Special Rapporteur urges Mediterranean states to protect Sumud Global Flotilla

“We don’t know where they are, we don’t know how many of them were actually taken,” said Ahmet Soylemez, speaking aboard the ship. A live tracker on the flotilla’s website showed L’Arq was about 215 nautical miles from Gaza.

Türkiye seeks the safe return of its nationals

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli intervention as a “new act of piracy,” adding that Ankara was taking necessary measures to ensure the safe return of Turkish citizens aboard the flotilla in coordination with other relevant countries.

“Israel must immediately cease its intervention and unconditionally release the held flotilla participants,” he said in a statement, calling on the international community to urgently adopt a “united and determined” stance against Israel.

The previous flotilla left Spain on April 12. But Israeli forces intercepted that group’s boats, taking more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists to Crete and detaining two others in Israel.

Read more: Gaza flotilla organizers say 211 activists ‘kidnapped’ and 22 ships intercepted by Israel

Last October, the Israeli army stopped another flotilla assembled by the same organization, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants.

Palestinians and international aid agencies, along with Turkiye and several other countries, say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.

Most of Gaza’s more than two million residents have been displaced, with many now living in bombed-out houses and makeshift tents pitched in open fields, on roadsides or on the ruins of destroyed buildings.

Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents. Its Foreign Ministry said more than 1.58 million metric tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025.