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Israel will release two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla from detention on Saturday (May 9, 2026) before handing them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation, the rights group representing them stated.

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted by the Israeli Navy in international waters off the coast of Greece on April 30.

The pair were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

“Today, the Shabak Israeli intelligence agency informed Adalah’s legal team that Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released from Israeli detention today, on Saturday (May 9, 2026),” the rights group Mr. Adalah said in a statement.

“They will be handed to Israel’s immigration authorities later today and kept in custody pending their deportation,” it added.

Mr. Adalah said it was closely monitoring developments “to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days”.

On Tuesday (May 5, 2026), an Israeli court had extended the pair’s detention until Sunday (May 10, 2026) to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.

The lawyers then filed an appeal against their continued detention, but it was rejected by a district court on Wednesday (May 6, 2026).

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations had all called for their swift release.

Avila and Abu Keshek, “have been held unlawfully by Israel for over a week after being taken into Israeli detention”, Mr. Adalah said on Saturday (May 9, 2026).

“Throughout their detention, they were held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission,” it added.

Both Avila and Abu Keshek had been on hunger strike while in detention, Mr. Adalah said, adding that Abu Keshek had “escalated to refusing water on the evening of May 5”.

Israeli authorities have previously rejected allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.

Mr. Adalah previously said authorities had accused the pair of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation”.

Israel says both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

An Israeli court on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as “unlawful.”

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday (May 7, 2026).

The two were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

On Tuesday (May 5, 2026), an Israeli court extended their detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.

The lawyers then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention, but it was rejected.

“Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision,” lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih said.

The two activists, who are on a hunger strike, had appeared in the district court with their feet shackled, an AFP journalist saw.

Mr. Abu Keshek looked exhausted and sat with his hands clasped in his lap, while Avila appeared calm.

Ms. Abu Salih said her clients had been subjected to “an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority”.

She went on to accuse the courts of “giving a free hand for the Israeli forces… to do it again and again”.

Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, called the court decision “unlawful and unreasonable”.

“This is especially egregious given that the activists were abducted from an Italian-flagged vessel, placing them under Italian jurisdiction,” it said.

Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention, including keeping Avila in a cold cell.

Ms. Abu Salih said Mr. Abu Keshek reported giving up water as well as food, and that the two men said authorities “keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day” about the flotilla, she added.

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.

Israel says both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.

“It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

An Israeli court on Tuesday (May 5, 2026) extended the detention of two foreign activists taken from a Gaza-bound flotilla by six days, a lawyer representing them said.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last week.

An Israeli court on Sunday (May 3, 2026) extended for two days the detention of two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla, who were brought to Israel for questioning, a rights group representing them said.

The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and bring supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday (April 30, 2026) that Israeli forces had arrested about 175 activists aboard 20 ships from an aid-laden flotilla bound for Gaza.

“Approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats… are now making their way peacefully to Israel,” the Ministry said in a statement, including a video of the activists aboard an Israeli navy ship.