Israel has intercepted and detained another 145 activists in the second flotilla effort in a row headed to Gaza to break Israel’s near-total humanitarian aid blockade, after detaining and imprisoning over 450 activists in the first wave of ships last week.
The activists, including doctors and journalists, were in a group of nine boats headed to Gaza that were all seized by Israeli officials, per the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
They were in international waters just 120 nautical miles from the coast of the Strip when Israel seized the vessels and detained all of those aboard, which activists said was tantamount to kidnapping and is a “clear violation of international law.” The vessels were carrying $110,000 worth of aid, including medicine and nutritional supplies, the group said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed seizing the boats in a post on social media. It said that activists were “transferred to an Israeli port” and will be “deported promptly.”
Over 450 Palestinians have died due to starvation caused by Israel’s genocide and famine campaign, with most of these deaths occuring in recent months. This count is recorded by the Gaza Health Ministry, and experts have noted that there are likely far more deaths to starvation that have gone uncounted.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that the condition of the detained activists is unknown.
Their detention comes as 82 members of the European parliament and parliamentary assembly wrote a letter calling for the immediate release of the earlier Global Sumud Flotilla effort still in Israeli custody. According to the group, there are six activists still in Israeli prison, after Israel seized 40 boats in the largest flotilla effort to date last week.
Activists released from Israeli custody have described facing horrific conditions in prison — conditions that Palestinian prisoners have reported facing for many years, including those held without trial or charges.
Jewish American activist David Adler said that Israeli forces singled out Jewish activists on board for humiliation.
“After interception, we were violently forced onto our knees into positions of submission, where the two Jews of the flotilla were taken by the ear and ripped from the group for a photo-op with [Israeli Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir, staring at the flag of the State of Israel, taunted by his goons,” he told Al Jazeera.
Adler, who was imprisoned for five days, said the activists were subject to torture, beatings, and solitary confinement, while guards deprived them of food, water, medicine, and other basic needs.
“Any form of disloyalty or speaking out or speaking up about basic things like medical treatment, they would come and basically throw your head to the ground, shackle your hands behind your back, and then take you to either sit in the hot sun or sit in total isolation and shackle your ankles as well and just leave you there for the day,” he said in an interview with Zeteo. “This is routine for Palestinians who are in indefinite detention, let alone in torture camps.”
Despite Adler being one of roughly 20 Americans held by Israel, the U.S. government was one of the only countries not to speak out against the seizure of the flotilla. Rather, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee vilified the activists, saying that their detention was legitimate.
Before seizing the boats in the Sumud flotilla, Israel had attempted to stop them with attacks.
CBS recently reported that U.S. officials confirmed that it was Israel that attacked two flotilla boats, sailing under the Portuguese and British flags, moored off the coast of Tunisia last month. The officials said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave direct approval to the attack, which caused a large fire on both boats when they were struck.
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