On May 19, foreign ministers of 10 countries including Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, Maldives and Spain issued a joint statement protesting Israel's blockade of many ships in the aid convoy under the Global Sumud initiative to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and temporarily detaining many people on ships en route to Gaza.
The foreign ministers of these countries said that such actions violate international law and international humanitarian law. The joint statement said that countries strongly oppose new attacks on trains, part of the Global Sumud humanitarian initiative, to draw international attention to the serious humanitarian situation that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are experiencing.
On May 19, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 29 Italian citizens were among more than 400 people arrested by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while participating in the humanitarian aid fleet of the Global Sumud initiative towards the Gaza Strip.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome has asked Israel to quickly release the arrested Italian citizens, while ensuring their personal rights and respecting their dignity.
The South African government also strongly protested. On May 19, the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "deep concern" at reports showing that many South African citizens were arrested by Israeli military forces while participating in a train on its way to the Gaza Strip.
The South African government believes that Israel's coercive measures raise concerns about humanitarian, legal and diplomatic issues. South Africa emphasizes that the detention or control of civilian ships in international waters may go against the principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Global Sumud aid convoy of 54 ships departed from the Marmaris region of Turkey on May 15 with the aim of breaking the blockade in the Gaza Strip.
According to the train's crisis handling board, at least 347 people from 40 countries have been arrested, including 74 Turkish citizens. At least 8 trains continue their journey, of which the Sirius train is believed to be nearest to Gaza.
The organizers of the aid ship Global Sumud said that the Israeli army opened fire to block many ships in this convoy, then landed to control and temporarily detain hundreds of international activists as the humanitarian ship headed towards the Gaza Strip passing through international waters in the Mediterranean.
In the latest announcement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry on the night of May 19 said that Israeli naval commandos had intercepted all 50 ships of the fleet. All 430 people have been transferred to Israeli ships and are on their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet their consular representatives.
This is the 3rd time in less than 1 year that Israel has conducted a major operation targeting aid trains heading to Gaza. In April this year, the Israeli army blocked a train near the Greek island of Crete and arrested 177 activists. Previously, in August 2025, Israel also blocked another train including more than 40 trains and about 500 international activists.
