JERUSALEM — The organisers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla said Israel intercepted its last remaining boat on Friday, after the interceptions of its fellow vessels drew protests worldwide.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, where the United Nations says famine is taking hold.

The Israeli navy began intercepting the boats on Wednesday, and an Israeli official said the following day that boats with over 400 people on board had been prevented from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Friday that it deported four Italian activists who were on board the flotilla, adding that “the rest are in the process of being deported”.

Israeli police said “more than 470 flotilla participants were taken into custody by the military police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the prison administration”.

Authorities earlier said that none of the vessels had breached its maritime blockade of the territory.

“Marinette, the last remaining boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was intercepted at 10.29am (3.29pm Malaysian time) local time, approximately 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza,” the flotilla organisers said on Telegram.

They added that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels — each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”.

Among those detained from the flotilla were more than 20 journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), including reporters from Spain’s El Pais, Qatar’s Al Jazeera and Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.

“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their work is a serious violation of the right to inform and be informed,” said Martin Roux, head of RSF’s crisis desk.