S. Korea orders ‘utmost’ push to free Gaza-bound activist

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered "utmost" diplomatic efforts for the safe release of a South Korean national detained after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, local media reported.

Kim Ah-hyun was aboard one of 11 ships operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) that were attacked by Israeli forces in international waters on Wednesday.

Following the interception, Kim and dozens of other activists were detained, according to reports.

"President Lee ordered maximum diplomatic efforts for the safe and swift release and return of the South Korean national after he was briefed on the issue late Wednesday," Seoul-based Yonhap News quoted presidential office spokesperson Kang Yu-jung as saying.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said it has requested Kim's release through its embassy in Israel and pledged to provide consular support.

The latest convoy set sail after Israeli naval forces attacked and seized more than 40 Gaza-bound boats last week, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, detaining over 450 activists on board. Most have since been deported.

Israel has repeatedly attacked and seized Gaza-bound aid ships in recent years, confiscating their cargo and deporting the activists involved.

It has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave toward famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable. Negotiations to end the war, based on a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, are underway in Egypt.