SHOTLIST: ASHDOD, ISRAEL (OCT. 2, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF SUMUD FILOTILLA SHIPS BEING TOWED TO ASHDOD PORTASHDOD, ISRAEL - OCT. 2, 2025: Some vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla that were seized following Israeli military operations were brought to the port of Ashdod. One of the boats displayed a Palestinian flag as it arrived at the harbor. Israeli forces on Thursday, Oct. 2, towed Gaza-bound Sumud Flotilla vessels seeking to break a siege on the Gaza Strip to the Ashdod Port in southern Israel, local media said. Israeli naval forces attacked 21 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla since late Wednesday and detained at least 317 activists aboard, according to the official flotilla tracker. Nineteen other boats are estimated to be facing Israeli attacks, while four are still on their way to Gaza. The detained activists are being transported to Israel’s Ashdod Port, from where they will be deported to Europe, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail late August to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza. It marked the first time in years that dozens of ships have sailed together toward Gaza and managed to approach the enclave this closely, which has been under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years. Israel tightened the siege further this March by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders. The Israeli army has killed over 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of disease.