In late August and September, 42 boats and almost 500 people set sail in their latest attempt to break the years-old Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea. A month later, in early October, all boats and activists aboard, including the European parliamentarians, lawyers, and activists, who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla mission with the intention of taking aid directly to Gaza, were captured and detained. The GSF movement was in response to what the UN has called a “blockade” on Gaza, with an urgent need for humanitarian aid to enter the territory. Several international aid agencies have already attempted to supply Gaza with food and medicine through official channels, but were stopped by Israel’s restriction of the flow of supplies.

When alleged drone and communication system attacks were reported by some boats, Italy and Spain sent naval vessels to accompany the GSF, but once the interception began, those vessels separated from the boats.

The first intercepted boats were around 70 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, while other boats got even closer to the coast. Israel is reported to have told the boats to change course because they were approaching “an active combat zone”, while the people on the GSF described the interceptions as “illegal” due to being on international waters, an area they could legally access under international law. The activists described Israel’s interception as “not an act of defence”, but a “brazen act of desperation.” The GSF website also describes the interception as a kidnapping that took place in international waters. While Israel claims that none of the boats had entered Gaza’s territorial waters, the GSF flotilla tracker system showed one of the boats, the Mikeno, did enter the blockade area.

Many of the activists reported that they were assaulted with water cannons during the interception, and then everyone aboard the GSF was later transferred to an Israeli port. This interception also came after weeks of “threats and incitement by Israeli officials” against the flotilla and its participants, and after multiple attempts to sabotage some of its ships.

The activists were then said to be transferred to Ktzi’ot prison in the Negev desert, a prison well-documented in its “abuse, daily physical and mental violence, humiliation, and sleep deprivation” of its Palestinian prisoners. Several activists were reported to be held in poor conditions without access to water or legal representation. Greta Thunberg, one of the most well-known activists aboard the flotilla, told the officials of her home country, Sweden, that she was subjected to harsh treatment throughout her detention. This included being held in a bedbug-infested cell, not having access to enough food or clean water, and being forced to hold flags for photographs. Similarly, other activists have also reported degrading treatment by Israeli authorities, while others were denied medical treatment and medication, and, in one case, a Muslim woman was allegedly forced to remove her hijab.

Adalah, the first Palestinian-run legal center in Israel, also corroborated that some of the detained endured abuse and physical violence while in custody. Other GSF members were forced to sit or kneel on concrete facing the Israeli flag for hours, were left in cold temperatures with little clothing, had their belongings taken and destroyed, and had their wrists bound tightly. One of them was quoted as saying, “We were shocked by the level of humiliation and gratuitous cruelty that these people used on us.” He also said that people with passports from countries that have not allied with Israel were harmed physically, with him providing the example of a Turkish citizen (another flotilla member) whose arm was broken and was denied painkillers for two days. He also stated that while in custody, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the flotilla participants and called them “terrorists” and “supporters of the killers.” Ben-Gvir went on to criticize Netanyahu for deporting the flotilla activists in a post on X, saying that he believes “they must be kept here in an Israeli prison for several months, so they can breathe the air of the terrorists’ wing.” Another activist, Marco Tesh, recounted not being able to breathe “because they put something to my face and they tied my hands to my back”. Rafael Borrego, a fellow deportee, recalls that any time someone called for an officer, several armed officers would walk into a cell, pointing weapons at their heads, dogs ready to attack them, and the activists being dragged on the floor.

Several countries have expressed concern over the incident, criticizing Israel for intercepting boats in international waters. Colombian President Gustavo Petro expelled all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country and denounced the interception, calling it an “international crime” committed by “[Israel’s Prime Minister] Netanyahu”. Across many countries around the world, including Greece, Italy, Germany, Tunisia, and Turkey, people have protested against Israel’s interception of the flotilla.

The events of the flotilla happened in the wake of a UN Human Rights Council report that recounted its previous conclusions that Israeli security forces were committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and violations of the Rome Statute. In this new report, the Commission found that the statements made by Israeli authorities constitute genocidal intent, which led them to declare that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.

The sister of one of the New Zealand activists on the flotilla released a statement that her brother had sailed into danger, “not because he wanted to, but because the government had failed to act.” Greta Thunberg also made a statement after her return from detainment, saying that she did not want to talk about her experience because “that’s not the story here”. She continued to say that Israel is “continuing to worsen and escalate the genocide and mass destruction”, and that the interception and detention of the activists was another violation of “international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”