The Latest: On the evening of May 18, two prominent online platforms in Việt Nam’s Palestine solidarity movement, the Facebook page “Thơ Palestine” and the Instagram account “VietforPalestine,” stated that a Vietnamese citizen named Tiêu Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc (also known as Bảo Ngọc Ashley) had been detained by the Israeli Occupying Forces in international waters.
She was aboard the Barbaros, a vessel that participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian mission to the Gaza Strip.
The Details: A few hours prior to the announcement of her detention, the pages reported that the Barbaros and nine other boats in the flotilla had been “intercepted” by Israel.
On May 18, the Global Sumud Flotilla website published a video of Bảo Ngọc, which she had recorded earlier as a precaution. In the video, she called on the Vietnamese state and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take diplomatic action against what she described as an unlawful abduction and to push for her release.
In the days leading up to the incident, Thơ Palestine and VietforPalestine had repeatedly updated followers on Bảo Ngọc’s journey with the flotilla to Gaza, from before its departure to its entry into international waters, where communications were lost after IOF jamming vessels approached.
Born in 1998, Bảo Ngọc is a former teacher and baker who co-founded VietforPalestine, one of the first pro-Palestine online platforms in Việt Nam. She has organized numerous community events to educate the public about the history of resistance against “Zionist settler colonialism.” She is also the first and only Vietnamese person to join the flotilla.
In a video interview with the Indonesian news outlet Republika, she stated that she joined due to intense solidarity with the Palestinian people, noting that Vietnamese people had endured similar war crimes caused by Western imperialism, particularly by the United States.
She believes that the flotilla is an effective strategy to break the blockade and end the genocide. She has also repeatedly drawn parallels between the current conflict and the Việt Nam War from 1954 to 1975, stating her belief that Palestinians will defeat Israel just as the Vietnamese defeated the United States.
As of 2 p.m. on May 19, state media outlets including VOV, Tuổi Trẻ, and Báo Quốc tế reported that Israel had blocked the flotilla but omitted any mention of a Vietnamese citizen’s participation or detention. Vietnamese authorities have not issued a statement.
On social media, the incident has deeply divided public opinion.
On Threads, the topic “Bảo Ngọc detained by Israel” is currently among the trending discussions. The user mingxuayas also questioned the media silence, noting that her life is at risk. Another user named lnh.dophg said Bảo Ngọc’s actions were voluntary and that she had fully anticipated the risks.
The account emphasized that she had gone without notifying the state in advance, making it unreasonable to assign responsibility to the government. The post received more than 3,700 likes, along with hundreds of comments and shares.
Conversely, users such as kee_dark_qtr and lnh.dophg argued that the state had previously warned citizens against traveling to conflict zones and bears no responsibility for her voluntary actions.
kee_dark_qtr commented, “The state already warned people not to go to conflict zones at this time. Even citizens living there were advised to return home. Whether you go there and come back alive is your own decision and your responsibility. Why go there and then, when something happens, demand that the state rescue you?” The comment received more than 2,000 likes.
Another user, lehan_john, stated that those demanding state intervention were inciting others. He also claimed that Bảo Ngọc had not been sent by Việt Nam and had acted on her own initiative, meaning the state bore no responsibility.
Meanwhile, the pro-government Facebook page Tifosi praised her actions, stating that “not everyone can be that brave” and wished the Global Sumud flotilla a safe journey to the Palestinian people.
The Background: The Global Sumud Flotilla is a humanitarian movement established by civil society organizations and is not affiliated with any government. Comprising more than 70 boats and over 1,000 people from more than 70 countries, the movement aims to deliver activists and aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. Its objectives include opening a maritime route to assert Palestinian sovereignty over their waters, rebuilding infrastructure, and condemning complicit governments.
The flotilla has faced numerous blockades; most recently, on April 29-30, 2026, Israeli forces intercepted 22 boats belonging to the flotilla and detained around 175 people.
The global Palestine solidarity movement has existed for decades and has grown significantly stronger since Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip escalated in 2023. It is a movement the Vietnamese government has historically supported due to parallels in their respective struggles against colonialism and occupation.
Why It Matters: In 1968, the government of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization, and it officially recognized the State of Palestine in 1988.
Resistance organizations such as Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have historically viewed Việt Nam’s struggle as a handbook for resistance, and the military works of Gen. Võ Nguyên Giáp have been translated into Arabic.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 19, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
