-RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — OCT. 2, 2025: Pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday, Oct. 2, to condemn the Israeli attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla. Israeli naval forces attacked an international aid flotilla bound for the besieged Gaza Strip and detained more than 450 activists on board, its organizers said Thursday. The Global Sumud Flotilla said on the US social media platform Instagram that 42 boats were illegally intercepted by Israeli forces. The Sumud Flotilla confirmed that more than 450 activists from 47 countries were transferred to Ashdod Port in southern Israel. The Sumud Flotilla said Israeli forces surrounded the vessels as they sailed toward Gaza to challenge Tel Aviv’s years-long Israeli blockade. Activists reported signal jamming and communication cut aboard most of the boats. Several activists posted videos on social media showing Israeli naval boats approaching the convoy and ordering them to change course. Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine. Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.