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The Sheffield resident and his brother have been sailing on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set out to supply Gazans with humanitarian aid.
A Massachusetts man aboard a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza has been arrested by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), organizers for the flotilla said.
Torleif Stumo and his brother, Adnaan, both from Sheffield, have been traveling on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a coalition of volunteers sailing across the Mediterranean Sea in small vessels to provide food and aid for the people of Gaza. The flotilla reported Wednesday night that Torleif’s boat had been intercepted by Israeli forces.
Thirteen of the 44 vessels in the flotilla have been intercepted as of Wednesday night, according to a tracker on the coalition’s website. “Huga,” on which Torleif is a crew member, is one of these boats.
Data on the tracker indicates that the boat’ status was last updated Wednesday at 17:34 UTC. Videos notifying the public of each person’s arrest have also been uploaded to the flotilla’s website.
“Hello. I am Torleif Stumo from the U.S., and if you are watching this video, it means that I have been kidnapped by the IOF and taken to Israel against my will,” Torleif says in his video. “Please put pressure on my government to end their complicity and bring me home.”
The tracker shows that as of Wednesday night, Adnaan’s boat, “Mikeno,” is still sailing. Ongoing livestreams of “Huga” have been cut, and the status of the crew members and participants were unconfirmed as of Wednesday night, according to an Instagram post from the flotilla.
“Israeli naval forces illegally intercepted and boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla’s vessel Huga along with other boats in international waters,” the coalition said in the post. “This is an illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians. We call on governments and international institutions to demand their immediate safety and release.”
Among the flotilla members arrested in the IDF’s interception is activist Greta Thunberg, according to the flotilla’s website.
The Israel Foreign Ministry has condemned the flotilla, referring to it on social media as the “Hamas-Sumud flotilla.”
A post on the Israel Foreign Ministry’s X account included a video of Thunberg being taken into custody.
“Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port,” officials said in the post. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy.”
Already several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.
Greta and her friends are safe and healthy. pic.twitter.com/PA1ezier9s— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
Officials explained the reasoning behind the interceptions in a separate post on X.
“The sole purpose of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla is provocation,” officials said in the post. “The Israeli Navy has reached out to the Hamas-Sumud flotilla and asked them to change course. Israel has informed the flotilla that it is approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful naval blockade.”
Flotilla organizers have argued that their actions are protected under international law.
The sole purpose of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla is provocation. Israel, Italy, Greece, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have all offered and continue to offer the flotilla a way to peacefully deliver any aid they might have to Gaza. The flotilla refused because they are not… pic.twitter.com/pLQj1FLIPA
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 1, 2025
Torleif directly responded to the “Hamas-Sumud flotilla” title in a statement written before he was arrested and later posted on Instagram.
“The Israeli media calls our flotilla either the selfie yacht flotilla or the Hamas flotilla,” Torleif said in the statement. “And that is absolutely reflective of the way that powerful governments and institutions treat us. Either we are ineffective or we are terrorists.”
Another post on Torleif’s Instagram account includes contact information to reach his representatives with a script to read when calling about Torleif and Adnaan. The representatives listed include Rep. Richard Neal, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Gov. Maura Healey.
Nadia Milleron, the Stumo brothers’ mother, told Boston.com that she has received minimal information about her son’s status. Though he was reportedly taken off “Huga” and placed on a prison boat, she could not get a clear answer about any additional details from the various embassies and representatives she contacted.
“I’m quite scared, so the only thing I can do is keep taking action,” Milleron said. “We just have to hope that Israel has enough pressure on it that they won’t do anything to harm them.”
However, Milleron told Boston.com that she suspects Torleif and his fellow crew members cooperated with the IDF due to the non-violence training they received prior to embarking on their mission. The training mandates that flotilla members refrain from retaliating or interfering if attacked or taken into custody, she said.
“These people have done non-violent training and repeated drills every day,” Milleron said. “They pose no threat at all to anybody. They’re not doing it for a show.”
Neal, U.S. Senators Markey and Warren, state Sen. Paul Mark, and state Rep. Leigh Davis — all representatives for Torleif’s hometown of Sheffield — did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday night.
Boston.com also reached out to the IDF but did not receive a response.
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