By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from the Global Sumud Flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod, a Palestinian rights group said on Wednesday, after naval forces intercepted the vessels in international waters and diverted them to Israel.
The flotilla, which organizers described as a civilian mission to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge Israel’s long-standing blockade of Gaza, set sail from Türkiye last week. Israeli officials said 430 activists were aboard roughly 50 vessels that departed from southwestern Türkiye. A tracking website showed several ships being stopped west of Cyprus.
The interception marks the latest in a series of attempts by international activists to breach the naval restrictions Israel has maintained on Gaza since 2007, when the militant group Hamas seized control of the territory. A previous convoy last month was halted in international waters off Greece; most participants were expelled to Europe, while two were taken to Israel, held briefly and then deported.
Rights group Adalah, whose lawyers visited the detention center, condemned the operation. “Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will,” the group said in a statement. “These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.”
Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the effort as a publicity stunt intended to benefit Hamas. “Another PR flotilla has come to an end,” a spokesman said late Tuesday. “All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are making their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives. This flotilla has once again proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt at the service of Hamas.”
Tensions escalated sharply on Wednesday when Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right coalition partner, posted video on X showing dozens of detained activists kneeling on the deck of a military vessel and later inside a detention facility, their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads pressed to the ground. The footage, captioned “Welcome to Israel,” showed the Israeli national anthem blaring as Ben-Gvir waved a large Israeli flag.
In one segment, he appeared to encourage detention staff as they pushed down an activist who stood to chant “free free Palestine” while walking past. The video drew swift condemnation even within Israel. Netanyahu distanced himself from Ben-Gvir’s actions, saying the minister’s handling of the detainees was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.” Netanyahu said he had instructed authorities to deport the activists “as soon as possible.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar went further, writing on X that Ben-Gvir had “knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display — and not for the first time.” Saar added that the national security minister was “not the face of Israel.” Ben-Gvir pushed back in parliament. “I am proud to be the minister in charge of the organizations that operated today against those supporters of terror,” he said. “Yes, there will be all sorts of pictures that Gideon Saar does not like, but I think they are a great source of pride.”
Adalah described the scenes as part of “a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.” Hamas, which governs Gaza, called the footage evidence of Israeli leaders’ “moral depravity and sadism.”
The episode triggered a wave of diplomatic protests. Türkiye and Spain condemned the interception itself. Indonesia reported that nine of its citizens, including two journalists from the newspaper Republika, had been arrested and demanded the immediate release of all vessels and crew. “Every diplomatic channel and consular measure will continue to be fully utilized,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Italy’s government summoned the Israeli ambassador and issued a sharply worded rebuke from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity,” Meloni said. The statement demanded an apology for what it called the “total disrespect” of Italian government requests.
France summoned the Israeli ambassador to express “indignation” over Ben-Gvir’s actions, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. Ireland’s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video, which included 15 Irish citizens, among them Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly. She demanded the immediate release of those “illegally detained.”
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, speaking in Berlin, called the treatment “monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane” and said Israel’s charge d’affaires in Madrid had been summoned. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung told a cabinet meeting that the arrest of South Korean nationals in international waters was “way out of line” and questioned its legality.
On Tuesday, Pakistan, Türkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives and Spain issued a joint statement condemning “in the strongest terms the renewed Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.” Among those detained was Saad Edhi, son of prominent Pakistani social worker Faisal Edhi and grandson of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has endured severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies during the conflict that began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Israeli officials have at times halted aid deliveries entirely. Organizers and rights groups maintain that the flotilla’s purpose was strictly humanitarian.
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