In a statement released on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denounced the Israeli assault on the aid convoy, which he said was organized with the participation of supporters of the Palestinian cause from dozens of countries and aimed at breaking the “unjust blockade” of Gaza and delivering humanitarian assistance to the oppressed Palestinian people.
Baqaei said the attack on the Sumud-2 flotilla was not only an assault on a humanitarian and relief mission, but also a blow to the awakened conscience of humanity and shared human values.
The spokesman stressed the responsibility of the international community, the United Nations, and all governments to condemn the Israeli regime’s continued lawlessness and hold the occupying regime accountable for its actions.
He also called for comprehensive support for the humanitarian campaign backing the people of Gaza and the global demand for the immediate release of the detained activists.
The Zionist regime has intercepted 22 out of the 58 aid boats travelling through international waters and bound for the besieged Gaza Strip.
The vessels make up part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla to try in recent months to break an Israeli blockade by carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. They sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.
The boats were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece’s Peloponnese Peninsula, hundreds of miles from Gaza.