By Akiva Van Koningsveld/JNS.org
The Israel Defense Forces jammed the radios of the Turkish-led Gaza flotilla and broadcast Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” a source familiar with the matter confirmed to JNS on Tuesday.
Flotilla organizers told Reuters that Israeli Navy commandos on Monday boarded 39 vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, some 250 nautical miles (463 km) from the Gaza Strip, and arrested those aboard, including 44 Turkish nationals.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry shared video footage showing the activists celebrating and hugging aboard an IDF ship after being detained. “So far, no aid has been found on their boats,” the MFA tweeted.
💃🏼“Oops I did it again!”
Brilliant! IDF jams the radio of the Gaza flotilla convoy with Britney Spears! Naturally, expect further claims of ‘crimes against humanity’. pic.twitter.com/kOLbjHXxBQ— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A)May 18, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu monitored the interception attempt from the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday.
The premier “was briefed by Navy commander Vice Admiral Eyal Harel, and watched our forces take control of the terrorism-supporting flotilla boats that had left Turkey and which intended to break the naval blockade on the Gaza coast,” according to a statement.
“I think you are doing an outstanding job, both with the first flotilla and with this one, and effectively neutralizing a malicious plan designed to break the isolation we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza,” Netanyahu told the naval commandos over the radio.
He was referring to the several missions led by Global Sumud (“Steadfastness”) Flotilla group, which were intercepted by the Israeli Navy over the past months, with participants detained and deported, including Swedish far-left activist Greta Thunberg.
“You are doing this with great success, and I must say also quietly, and certainly with less prominence than our enemies expected—so, heartfelt congratulations,” he added. “Keep going until the end.”
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.
