A Colombian woman was among the activists detained by Israel in Monday’s raid on a flotilla of aid ships heading for Gaza, in which at least nine people were killed, reports Semana.
Edda Virginia Manga Otalora, who has spent the last 20 years living in Sweden, was one of the 750 activists, politicians and journalists from 32 countries travelling in the flotilla, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, of Northern Ireland.
The ships were also carrying 10,000 tons of medicine, books, building materials and prefabricated houses destined for Gaza, which the organization Free Gaza hoped would draw attention to Israel’s three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Manga, with the help of her husband back in Sweden, updated the situation regularly on her blog, which received expressions of support from around the world.
“This is the first time in history that a humanitarian flotilla will be met by military force,” Manga said.
The Colombian’s last blog post said there had been no verbal contact with the five Israeli vessels which surrounded the flotilla, 72 miles from the Israeli coast and 100 miles from Gaza.
The Israeli raid caused world-wide protests. The United Nations Security Council issued a statement condemning the raid, and said there will be a “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent” investigation.