JERUSALEM — A Northwest Ohio man was among the passengers on a flotilla of more than 40 boats detained Wednesday by Israel as they attempted to break a blockade of Gaza.

The Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a news release Thursday saying Phil Tottenham, a Marine veteran from Toledo, as well as Swedish activist Greta Thunberg are being held by Israeli police. About 450 activists were detained.

The Global Sumud Flotilla , which was made up of about 40 civilian boats, was the largest yet to try to break the blockade. It comes at a time of growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza , where its offensive has laid waste to wide swaths of territory and killed tens of thousands of people.

Activists had said they hoped that the sheer number of b

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