Israel said on Thursday (May 21, 2026) it had deported all the foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, following global outcry over their treatment in custody.

Around 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday (May 18, 2026) while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Activists from the Gaza-bound Flotilla ship, detained by Israeli forces after their vessels were intercepted in international waters in the Mediterranean, upon arrival at Istanbul Airport, Türkiye, on May 21, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and diplomatic backlash on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said on Thursday (May 21, 2026) “Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” he added.

The legal centre representing the flotilla members said earlier on Thursday (May 21, 2026) that the majority were “en route for deportation” from Ramon Airport in Israel’s far south.

Adalah said that the activists had been held at Israel’s Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.

Türkiye had announced it was sending charter flights to Israel to repatriate Turkish citizens and participants from third countries.

Turkish Foreign Ministry sources later confirmed that “a total of 422 flotilla participants, 85 of whom are our citizens, are being brought to our country on special charter flights.”

A spokesman for Adalah said activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt’s border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba.

‘They kicked us’

Adalah’s legal director Suhad Bishara told AFP on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) that the group’s lawyers had been able to give legal counsel to “many” of the hundreds of activists, though she added that others had faced court hearings without legal assistance.

“We know of at least two participants who were hospitalised… both of them were shot by rubber bullets,” Bishara said, adding that others said they feared they had broken ribs.

Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist detained with the flotilla activists and deported before the others, told reporters at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on Thursday (May 21, 2026) that he and others had been “taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens”.

“They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he said of his treatment by Israeli security forces.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, under blockade since 2007.

​Poland’s Foreign Minister said on ‌Thursday (May 21, 2026) he had summoned the ​Israeli chargé d’affaires over ⁠the detention of Gaza flotilla activists, including Polish nationals, demanding their ‌immediate release and an apology.

“Poland firmly condemns ‌the conduct of representatives ‌of the ⁠Israeli authorities towards activists ⁠of the Global Sumud Flotilla detained by the Israeli army, including Polish citizens,” ​Radoslaw Sikorski ‌said on X.

He said Poland expected its citizens to be treated in line with ‌international standards, and that ​consular officials were seeking access to detainees.

The Israeli chargé ⁠d’affaires had been summoned “to convey our outrage and demand an ‌apology for the extremely inappropriate behavior of a member of the Israeli government”, he added.

Israeli police on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) forced activists who were ‌aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla to kneel ​on the ground in rows with their hands ⁠tied behind their backs while ⁠a Minister looked on, drawing criticism from foreign leaders ‌and even from inside Israel’s own government.

,

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.