The Israeli navy intercepted a flotilla aiming to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, about 35 nautical miles from the Israeli coast. According to a high-ranking officer, passengers on board the Zaytouna-Olivia offered no resistance when the troops took over the boat. The boat was redirected to the Israeli port city of Ashdod. Among the Zaytouna-Olivia's 13 passengers are several parliamentarians, an Olympic athlete, a retired U.S. army colonel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland. Another boat, the Amal 2, was forced to turn back to Barcelona due to a technical malfunction. However, organizers have voiced suspicions that the boat was sabotaged.