“If you are watching this video, it is because I was illegally captured by Israeli forces and taken to Israel against my will,” stated Miguel Duarte in a short video posted on Instagram at 01:35 on Wednesday.
The Instagram page Palestina em Português also reported that Israeli forces intercepted the ship Morgana, on which Miguel Duarte was aboard.
At least nine vessels part of the flotilla were intercepted by the Israeli Navy, and one of them was rammed in international waters, announced the organization, Flotilha Sumud Global, on Wednesday night.
The coordinator of the Left Bloc, Mariana Mortágua, and Portuguese actress Sofia Aparício, were also detained by Israel after the interception of their vessel, as confirmed to Lusa by bloc leader Joana Mortágua.
Before his detention, in a video released at 22:30 on Wednesday, Miguel Duarte noted that there were many Israeli boats in the vicinity “firing water cannons” and performing “dangerous maneuvers” near the ships.
In a message on the Telegram platform, the Flotilha Sumud Global stated that the Israeli naval force employed “active aggression” against the Florida boat, which was “deliberately rammed at sea.”
It added that other vessels were attacked with water cannons.
“These illegal attacks on humanitarian ships are a war crime. No crew members on board were injured,” added the mission’s organization.
Despite the interceptions, the organization assured in a message released at 01:20 that 30 vessels from the flotilla are continuing towards Gaza and were 46 nautical miles (85 kilometers) from the coast of the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed that several ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had been “detained without incident” and that the passengers were being transferred to an Israeli port.
