The Israeli naval forces have stopped 22 boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, which is several hundred miles away from where they were heading to. The activists called this incident "pirate actions," stating that the Israelis sabotaged the engines and jammed the communication system on board, leaving more than 180 passengers stranded on boats that are now damaged as a storm approaches. The Israeli foreign ministry insists that this was a non-violent "early intervention" in order to ensure their blockade is maintained, calling the flotilla a "stunt" associated with Hamas.