6 Canadians, including 3 from N.L., taken by Israeli forces

A boat carrying journalists, doctors and activists, including three St. John’s residents and six Canadians in total, has been intercepted by Israeli military forces in international waters.

The boats are part of the Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of civil society groups from several countries attempting to break Israel’s siege of Gaza to deliver food, medicine and other humanitarian aid amid Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians.

Between approximately 4:34 and 5:35 a.m. local time Israeli naval forces raided eight of the flotilla’s nine boats, according to a statement posted to the coalition’s website. The statement also says the Conscience—carrying St. John’s residents Sadie Mees, Nikita Stapleton and Devoney Ellis—was the only vessel still sailing at that time.

Videos from the Conscience livestreamed on YouTube showed passengers preparing for the anticipated raid before the video went offline. The livestream does not appear to be archived online but The Independent obtained screenshots taken during the livestream early Wednesday morning local time. The images show Mees, a graduate student at Memorial University, seated among passengers wearing orange life jackets. The photos also appear to show Ellis seated next to Mees, and Stapleton, a school teacher, seated across from the two.

Following the seizure of flotilla vessels, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X that “[a]nother futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” adding the “vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port. All the passengers are safe and in good health. The passengers are expected to be deported promptly.”

On Wednesday a pre-recorded video was posted to social media showing all six Canadians aboard the Conscience. In it, Mees delivers the following message: “If you are seeing this video we’ve been attacked at sea and abducted by the Israeli forces or forces of another country complicit in [Israel’s] genocide of the Palestinian people. We appeal to our friends, family and comrades back home to pressure the Canadian government to demand our immediate release, implement a two-way arms embargo and sanctions against Israel. Free Palestine.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FreedomFida🪷 (@freedom_fida)

In Newfoundland, St. John’s-based group Palestine Action YYT is condemning what it calls Israel’s “latest act of piracy on the high seas, where the Israeli navy violently intercepted the Conscience and other vessels in the Freedom Flotilla, abducting their multinational crews and passengers.”

The group says the flotilla was “sailing in international waters” and that the “attack mirrors the recent assault on the Sumud Flotilla on October 2, 2025, and continues Israel’s pattern of kidnapping, intimidation, and aggression against civilians attempting to break its siege on Gaza and undermine its genocide.”

It is calling on the federal government to “demand the immediate release and safe return of all Canadians and others abducted by Israel; publicly condemn Israel’s acts of piracy and violence against civilians at sea; [and] take concrete measures, including an arms embargo and economic and diplomatic sanctions, to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing violations of international law.”

Palestine Action YYT organizer Nicolas Keough is calling Israel’s actions “an assault not only on the Freedom Flotilla and the people of Gaza, but on international law and the right of people everywhere to engage in peaceful solidarity. The Canadian government must act immediately to protect its citizens, demand their safe return, and end its complicity in genocide.”

On Wednesday morning a group of protestors visited St. John’s East MP and federal cabinet minister Joanne Thompson’s office on Torbay Road in St. John’s. They were met with a letter from the building’s property management and owners banning them from the property for 12 months under petty trespass laws. A video posted by one protestor to Instagram shows an unidentified woman who says she represents the building owner telling the protestors, “We understand your rights, but we have rights too as building owners and property mangers, and we ask you to leave the building and not return — and building means our property lines as well.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daniel Smith (@dansmith709)

WLH Holdings Ltd., which owns the Prince Charles Building home to Tompson’s constituency office at 120 Torbay Rd., has three directors, according to Digital Government and Services NL’s website: Marian Hopkins, Wilfred Hopkins and Ryan Hopkins.

The Independent reached out to Ryan Hopkins—a real estate investor who trades under Royal LePage, according to a Facebook profile featuring his name, photos, and real estate listings—asking why his company is banning protestors from Thompson’s office, particularly in light of their constitutionally-protected right to freedom of expression and given the urgency of the situation. He did not respond by the time of publication.

The Independent also requested comment from Thompson about the safety of the Newfoundlanders being held by Israel, and about the protest outside her office. After this story was published we received a statement from the MP’s office saying, “Three Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, Sadie, Devoney, and Nikita, have been detained in Israel, and our government is working tirelessly for their safety, quick release, and access to consular services. I share the concerns of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for their safety, and remain in active contact with Minister [Anita] Anand and Global Affairs Canada to ensure the well-being of all Canadians.”

The Independent also reached out to Canada’s Ambassador to Israel Leslie Scanlon asking if she has had contact with any of the Canadians aboard the vessels, or with Israel’s government about its capture of the Canadians, and what she is doing to ensure their safety. We did not hear back from the ambassador.

A growing number of countries, human rights groups, experts and international organizations—most recently the UN Human Rights Commission—are calling Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories a genocide. Sustained protests around the world have been calling on governments and institutions to end Israel’s violence.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 4:52 p.m. NST on Oct. 8, 2025 to include the statement issued by St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson.