![\"Opposition](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/flotilla_gaza-320x200.jpg\")
Opposition parties on Thursday took the conservative government to task after Israeli forces off the southern island of Crete overnight intercepted a flotilla of small boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid to Gaza.<\/p>\n
Main opposition Socialist PASOK shadow foreign minister Dimitris Mandzos described the Israeli move as \u201ca new severe breach of international maritime law and the freedom of navigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dozens of boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla set off from Barcelona, in Spain, this month \u2013 less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled another effort by the activist group to reach Gaza.<\/p>\n
Activists said they were intercepted in \u201ca dangerous and unprecedented escalation\u201d some 600 miles from Gaza, and Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry said it was taking about 175 passengers from more than 20 boats to Israel.<\/p>\n
The group indicated that 22 vessels had been intercepted in international waters west of Crete, and 36 others were still sailing Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PASOK\u2019s Mandzos pressed the government to reveal the precise spot where the Israeli attack took place and to specify whether it lay within the area where Greece has responsibility for search and rescue operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad the Greek government been informed about the Israeli vessels\u2019 act?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat was the role and the response in the field of Greek authorities? What actions does the Greek government propose to take against this illegal move?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Greek Communist Party, or KKE, also denounced what it called Israel\u2019s \u201cact of piracy\u201d and urged the government to reveal whether it had advance knowledge of the Israeli action.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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