Israel’s Foreign Ministry has added Australia to the list of countries it accused Gaza flotilla activists of having caused chaos in, posting video on Tuesday of protesters disrupting access to Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra.
“The flotilla anarchists sow chaos wherever they go. Now in Australia. Before that in Spain, Austria, and Greece. The flotilla = provocations and riots,” the ministry wrote.
About 50 anti-Israel demonstrators, including some involved in the flotilla, knelt in the marble foyer with their hands behind their backs to mimic images of detained flotilla members, prompting police and security to shut down the main entrance, Australia’s 9 News reported.
Israeli forces last week intercepted the latest attempt to sail to Gaza and breach the Strip’s maritime blockade, this time organized by the same Turkish group that was behind the 2010 MV Mavi Marmara flotilla. More than 50 vessels, carrying some 400 activists from 45 countries, were stopped in international waters, inside the Israeli-enforced interception zone, which stretches some 150 nautical miles off Gaza’s coast.
The flotilla anarchists sow chaos wherever they go.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 26, 2026
Now in Australia. Before that in Spain, Austria, and Greece.
The flotilla = provocations and riots pic.twitter.com/A6Zxcu6iqv
Shortly before the first vessels were intercepted by the IDF, Jerusalem’s Foreign Ministry had called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately.”
“The purpose of this provocation is to serve Hamas, to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and to obstruct progress on President Trump’s peace plan,” it continued.
The ministry noted that U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which oversees humanitarian aid to Gaza under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, previously said the flotillas were “only about publicity.”
More than 1.58 million tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since the start of the ceasefire on Oct. 10, 2025, the Foreign Ministry added.
Jerusalem maintains that its naval blockade on Gaza, imposed on Jan. 3, 2009, is compatible with international law. It aims to prevent weapons, terrorists and money from entering or exiting the Gaza Strip by sea. The enclave has been ruled by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists since 2007.
