DOHA, April 30 -- Israel has intercepted aid ships bound for Gaza in ‌international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said ​on Thursday, decrying the move as an "escalation of Israel's impunity".

A second flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to ‌Palestinians in Gaza sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona ​on April 12, aiming to try to break the Israeli blockade.

The vessels were seized by Israel hundreds of miles from Gaza, said the ​organisers, Global Sumud Flotilla.

"This is piracy," the group said in a statement. "This is the unlawful seizure of human beings on the open sea near Crete, an assertion that Israel can operate with total impunity, far beyond its ‌own borders, with no consequence...