Israel deports hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists after international backlash

Flotilla detainee Shahid Mahmood says he experienced ‘torture’ and ‘mistreatment’ after being detained by the Israeli military.

TEL AVIV, Israel— The Israeli government on Thursday released and deported hundreds of flotilla activists who attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Outrage abroad over the activists’ treatment prompted several countries to summon Israeli envoys to hear their concerns.

About 420 activists departed Israel on planes bound for Turkey, where they landed Thursday evening in Istanbul. Wearing grey sweatsuits and Arab keffiyehs, they descended stairs to the runway flashing two-fingered salutes and chanting “Free Palestine.” Some appeared to be limping.

All of the activists were expected to be taken for a medical checkup, Türkiye’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “all foreign activists” from the flotilla had been deported.

The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said one participant who holds Israeli citizenship, Zohar Regev, was released following a court hearing on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay. Regev has taken part in previous flotillas to Gaza.

Netanyahu calls for quick deportation after rebuking security minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he instructed that the activists be deported “as soon as possible,” after sharply rebuking Israel’s national security minister for provocative videos showing the minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.

Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” the way National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”

Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area on the deck of a ship.

Several countries, including Britain, France and Portugal, summoned Israeli envoys on Thursday over concerns about the treatment of flotilla activists and in protest of Ben-Gvir’s actions.

“The actions of Mr. Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, condemned even by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable,” French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. Türkiye, Greece, Italy and Indonesia also condemned Israel for Ben-Gvir’s comments and the treatment of flotilla activists.

Italian detainees describe abuses by Israeli forces

Two Italian citizens who had been detained by Israel returned home Thursday, saying they had been beaten and mistreated — allegations that were denied by Israeli prison officials

Dario Carotenuto, an Italian lawmaker, said he experienced the “longest seconds” of his life when Israeli forces pointed rifles at activists inside a detention facility.

“They kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face,” said Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian newspaper journalist.

The allegations were “false and entirely without factual basis,” said Zivan Freidin, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service.

Dozens of the activists’ boats began setting sail from Spain to Gaza in April. Israel stopped 20 vessels from the group on April 30 near the southern Greek island of Crete and forced most of its activists to disembark.

Israel took two high profile activists — Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Avila — back to Israel where they were interrogated and detained for around a week before being deported.

The activists accused Israel of torture, claims Israel denies. Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for “kidnapping” their citizens.

Participants then regrouped and more than 50 boats departed from the Turkish port of Marmaris on May 14. Israeli forces began stopping the boats about 268 kilometres (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council that countries are right to be outraged at how flotilla activists from their countries were treated — but he said what Ben-Gvir did “is the tip of the iceberg” of how Israel treats Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has repeatedly blocked similar attempts

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas.” The boats carry a tiny, symbolic amount of aid.

This week, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror.”

Last year, Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving some 500 activists.

Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.

Blockade of Gaza in place since 2007

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.

Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it’s intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press

AP journalists Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; Silvia Stellacci in Rome; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.