Israel said the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) was carrying plenty of activists, but no aid.
The flotilla, which consisted of 40 vessels, was intercepted on Thursday during Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared a video in which Israeli police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne was seen walking through what he claimed to be one of the largest ships in the flotilla, revealing it was devoid of any cargo.
“We and several other countries proposed to transport this aid to the Gazan people securely, but they flatly refused our assistance. Now we understand why: it was never truly about aiding the Gazans, but rather about gaining media attention and increasing social media followers,” Elsdunne remarked in the video as he navigated the empty ship of the flotilla.
Brian Cox, who serves as an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School and is a retired U.S. Army judge advocate, countered claims suggesting the flotilla’s interception was unlawful.
“International law meticulously details the protocols for conducting a naval blockade and stopping vessels trying to breach such a blockade. The evidence suggests that Israel adhered strictly to these legal guidelines when intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla,” Cox explained to Fox News Digital.
In a thread on X, Cox pushed back against former British diplomat Carig Murray, who asserted that Israel lacked jurisdiction.
Cox said that it did not matter if the fleet was on the high seas and not within 12 nautical miles of Israel.
“Ships can be captured beyond neutral waters if they breach or attempt to breach a blockade,” Cox stated, referencing the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea. He also refuted the necessity for the blockade to be temporary, asserting that the manual does not mandate it to be “short term.”
In contrast, Murray argued that the manual is “helpful as a reference for customary international law as it was three decades ago, but it holds no more authority beyond that.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Murray for comment.
