Israel intercepts 39 activist boats bound for Gaza, after repeated warnings

"This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative," Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on social media.

Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver supposed aid by sea as a publicity stunt.

Israel began its Gaza offensive after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey, Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru, Alvise Armellini in Rome, Howard Goller in New York, Alex Cornwell, Tarek Amara, Emma Pinedo and Aislinn Laing in Madrid, Pietro Lombardi, Padraic Halpin and Jonathan Spicer; Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Writing by Edward McAllister and Michael Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates, Neil Fullick and Sharon Singleton)