Israel Hijacks Hundreds of Sumud Flotilla Activists, Two Indonesian Volunteers Escape

No Indonesian citizens (WNI) were aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2026 fleet that was hijacked by Zionist Israeli naval forces in waters near Greece on Wednesday night (29/4/2026). The volunteers and activists from the Global Peace Convoy (GPCI), who had previously sailed on the humanitarian mission to breach the Gaza blockade in Palestine, namely Maimon Herawati and Chiki Fawzi, were in Istanbul, Turkey. Maimon serves as the coordinator of the GPCI steering council. Together with Chiki, who is a volunteer, the pair had sailed with the Global Sumud fleet from the port in Barcelona, Spain, since 12 April. They navigated the Mediterranean Sea towards Gaza, reaching Italy. However, the two continued their actions to Turkey by flight. In Turkey, Maimon and Chiki were actually preparing additional Indonesian participation in the subsequent voyage. This is because around six Indonesian volunteers affiliated with GPCI, already waiting in Istanbul, were to join the Global Sumud voyage from one of the ports in Turkey. The GPCI volunteers set to join the follow-up voyage included, among others, the Republika team. “I have been in Istanbul for two days to continue preparing this mission to breach the Gaza blockade,” said Maimon when meeting Republika in Istanbul, Turkey. However, when the volunteers who had departed for the follow-up voyage port, on Wednesday (28/4/2026) midnight, GSF reported an attack by the occupying Zionist Israeli naval forces on the Global Sumud Flotilla fleet near Greek waters. Initially reported, 11 out of 56 Global Sumud ships were hijacked, including the Saf Saf ship, which is the mother ship for Global Sumud in this mission. On Thursday morning (30/4/2026), Maimon, who is also a member of the Steering Committee (SC) of the Global Sumud Flotilla, stated that 22 ships had been hijacked and attacked. “The latest news, it is now confirmed that 22 of our ships have been hijacked by the occupying forces (Israel),” said Maimon. The hijacking occurred in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea near Greek waters, or about 600 miles from the Gaza coastline. According to Maimon, hundreds of activists from dozens of countries aboard the 22 ships hijacked by Zionists also faced abduction. “22 ships, multiplied by ten. Each ship carries around ten activists from many countries. That means around 200 activists are currently out of contact,” said Maimon.