Freedom Flotilla I (Mavi Marmara)
2010
INTERCEPTED
Mission Information
Mission Organizer
Free Gaza Movement
Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief
Mission Stats
Mission Period
May 30 - May 31
720
Participants
5
Countries
8
Ships
1
Days
0
Alerts
Current Threat Level
10
/10
HIGH RISK
Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with 30 wounded (including one who later died of his wounds)
Updated: 9/19/2025
Mission Route
DEPARTURE
Famagusta, Cyprus
DESTINATION
Gaza, Palestine
Mission Outcome
INTERCEPTED
Aid Not Delivered
Israeli forces raided the flotilla on the night of 30–31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, boarding the ships using speedboats and helicopters. Nine activists were killed. Dozens of activists and seven Israeli soldiers were injured. After the raid, the activists were detained in Israel pending release: all were deported by 6 June. The ships were towed to Israel and those claimed by their owners were returned. The aid was delivered to Gaza under United Nations supervision on 17 June. Widespread international condemnation of and reaction to the raid followed. Various investigations were conducted, including by the United Nations, Israel and Turkey. Israel-Turkey relations were strained, and Israel subsequently eased its blockade on Gaza.
Total Mission Casualties & Detentions
10
Killed
30
Injured
680
Detained
The 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla was a small fleet of ships by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH). The Flotilla mission to Gaza had the explicit goal of carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. In typical circumstances, aid is first brought to Israel to be inspected and then transferred to Gaza.
On 31 May 2010, Israeli forces boarded the ships in a raid from speedboats and helicopters. Following resistance on one of the boats, nine activists were killed by Israeli forces. Widespread international condemnation of and reaction to the raid followed, Israel–Turkey relations were strained, and Israel subsequently eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Overview
The flotilla was the Free Gaza Movement's ninth attempt to break the naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip. Israel proposed inspecting the cargo at the Port of Ashdod and then delivering non-blockaded goods through land crossings, but this proposal was turned down. Israeli forces then raided and seized the Gaza-bound ships in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Five shipments had been allowed through prior to the 2008–09 Gaza War, but all shipments following the war were blocked by Israel. This flotilla was the largest to date. An Islamic aid group from Turkey, the İHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) sponsored a large passenger ship and two cargo ships.
While the UN's official report found Israel's blockade of Gaza to be legal,another set of UN experts, reporting to the Human Rights Council, came to the opposite conclusion finding that it violated international law.
Ships in Mission
Mavi Marmara
Turkey
Intercepted
590 people
Gazze I
Turkey
Intercepted
35 people
Sfendoni
Greece
Intercepted
50 people
Eleftheri Mesogeios
Greece
Intercepted
Defne Y
Kiribati
Intercepted
50 people
Rachel Corrie
Cambodia
Intercepted
19 people
Challenger 1
USA
Intercepted
Challenger 2
USA
Intercepted
Media Coverage
Documentaries