Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Crete disembarked on Friday in the Greek island, an AFP journalist saw.
Escorted by Greek coast guards, some 175 activists were taken in four buses to a town whose name was not disclosed by the authorities.
Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organisers put the number at 211.
“In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X late on Thursday, thanking Greece “for its willingness to receive the flotilla participants”.
Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.
