Wael Naouar said through the US social media company Facebook that the Israeli navy first tried to block the lead ship Alma, but the rest of the flotilla passed unopposed. He described a second attempt when Israeli forces redirected toward another lead vessel, Sirius, only to be again bypassed by the remaining ships. “The Zionist (Israeli) vessels today intercepted Alma, the lead ship, but the other ships ignored Alma and continued toward Gaza,” Naouar said. Contact has been restored with the Alma ship after being lost for a short time, said an Al Jazeera correspondent on board the flotilla. The correspondent later reported that the Israeli vessel had left the area, allowing the flotilla to resume its course toward the shores of the Gaza Strip.