Daijiworld Media Network - Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, Sep 30: Israel’s Foreign Ministry has claimed that official Hamas documents recovered from the Gaza Strip reveal the terror group’s direct involvement in the funding and orchestration of the controversial 'Sumud' flotilla, which aims to challenge Israel’s longstanding naval blockade on Gaza.
The flotilla, made up of around 50 civilian vessels and participants from over 40 countries, has presented itself as a humanitarian mission carrying food and medical aid to Palestinians. However, Israel now alleges it is part of a broader Hamas-led operation carried out under civilian cover.
In a statement issued Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released translated excerpts and images from the documents, including one signed by Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, which they say explicitly ties the flotilla’s leadership to Hamas's international apparatus.
“These Hamas documents, discovered in Gaza and revealed for the first time, show a direct link between the flotilla organisers and the Hamas terrorist organisation,” the statement read. “While Hamas in Gaza controls local operations, Hamas Abroad coordinates international activities, primarily through the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which functions as an extension of the terror group.”
The PCPA, established in 2018 and designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel in 2021, allegedly operates as Hamas’s representative body overseas, using diplomatic fronts to mobilise global actions against Israel. This includes organising protests, marches, and flotillas like the Sumud mission.
One of the key documents, according to the Foreign Ministry, is a 2021 letter from Haniyeh to the PCPA leadership, calling for unified efforts and expressing open endorsement of the organisation’s work. Another document reportedly lists PCPA operatives, including well-known Hamas affiliates.
Among them is Zaher Birawi, a UK-based figure described as the head of the PCPA’s Hamas division and a longtime organiser of Gaza-bound flotillas. Also named is Saif Abu Kashk, identified as a PCPA operative in Spain and CEO of Cyber Neptune — a front company Israel claims secretly owns many of the vessels in the Sumud flotilla.
“These ships are not independent humanitarian vessels as portrayed — they are owned by a Hamas-linked entity,” the Ministry alleged, adding that the documents were recovered from a Hamas outpost in Gaza.
Israel has maintained a naval blockade on Gaza since 2007, citing the need to prevent arms smuggling and terror-related activities by Hamas and other militant groups. While international activists frequently attempt to breach the blockade through flotillas, Israel views such efforts as dangerous provocations often exploited by terror groups under the guise of aid.
The flotilla’s organisers have not yet publicly responded to Israel’s claims.