27/07/2025
🔴 Today the Human Rights Research Center (HRRC) reminds of the vital importance of solidarity with those who risk their freedom to oppose injustice.
On 26 July 2025, Israeli naval forces intercepted the civilian humanitarian vessel Handala (Freedom Flotilla Coalition), approximately 40 nautical miles from Gaza in international waters. The ship—carrying vital supplies such as baby formula, medicines, and food, and ferrying 21 international activists and journalists—was violently intercepted by the Israeli military Armed commandos. Communications and cameras were cut off, the crew detained, and the cargo seized.
⚖️ These actions amount to a flagrant violation of international maritime law, including the San Remo Manual, and protections guaranteed for humanitarian missions under the Geneva Conventions.
✊ We stand steadfast in solidarity with those detained aboard Handala, and with the people of Gaza, whose survival depends on urgent global resolve.
🚫 For nearly a year, Gaza has endured the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, a total blockade cutting off food, water, medicine, electricity, and fuel, and mounting deaths by starvation and disease. This systematic assault on civilians violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Genocide Convention, the Rome Statute, and customary international humanitarian law—and amounts to genocide.
🚢❌ The Handala mission follows a disturbing pattern, including the June 2025 interception of the vessel Madleen—once again reflecting Israel’s disregard for binding international norms that protect humanitarian actors in conflict zones.
Such disregard for international law calls to mind painful parallels from our own national experience—from the genocide of Armenians in 1915 to the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh in 2023, all abetted by international silence. The failure to challenge unlawful blockades and ethnic cleansing then now echoes as Gaza faces mass starvation under siege.
🤝 In this regard, HRRC also extends full solidarity to UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese , who has consistently upheld international law, calling for sanctions and an arms embargo against Israel. HRRC stands firmly with Albanese amid mounting political backlash against her impartial human rights reporting.
🛑 We call urgently on all actors in positions of power to take immediate action:
🔹 Ceasefire now — end the genocidal campaign in Gaza.
🔹 Release all 21 detainees from the Handala mission without conditions.
🔹 Ensure full, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza under international law.
🔹 Initiate international legal investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of starvation.
🔹 Impose targeted political and economic measures—sanctions, arms embargoes, and diplomatic consequences—until Israel fully complies with its legal obligations.
Neutrality in the face of genocide is unacceptable. Respect for human rights demands accountability, principled legal clarity, and moral action.
