BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Activists on board a flotilla of vessels sailing toward Gaza said late Wednesday that the Israeli navy has begun intercepting their vessels as they approach the besieged Palestinian territory .

The Global Sumud Flotilla, with Greta Thunberg , Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela , and several European lawmakers aboard, consists of nearly 50 boats and 500 activists and is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid. It has remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip and reach Palestinians .

Greg Stoker, an American veteran aboard one of the boats in the flotilla, said around a dozen naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it.

“They are currently hailing our vessels, telling us to tu

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