Israeli military forces have transported two organizers of a humanitarian aid convoy to Israel for interrogation after intercepting their Gaza-bound flotilla in international Mediterranean waters.
The detained leaders are Saif Abukeshek, who holds Palestinian-Spanish citizenship, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian national. Both served on the steering committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to challenge Israel’s naval blockade while delivering humanitarian supplies to Palestinian territories.
Israeli naval units intercepted approximately 20 vessels carrying 175 activists near Crete’s coastline. According to activist reports, Israeli forces boarded their ships, destroyed engines, and arrested several participants. The confrontation took place hundreds of miles from Gaza and Israeli territory during overnight hours from Wednesday into Thursday.
Israeli officials justified their preemptive action by citing the large number of vessels involved, stating they needed to act before the flotilla entered Israeli territorial waters.
On Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced via X that both activists would face questioning in Israel. The ministry alleged Abukeshek has “suspected ties to a terrorist organization” while Ávila faces “suspected illegal activity” charges, though no supporting evidence was provided.
The Global Sumud Flotilla organization has called for international intervention. “We demand that all governments do all they can to pressure the Israeli regime to release all the illegal abductees,” the group stated Friday.
Most flotilla participants were freed in Crete late Thursday. Organizers reported that 31 of the original 53 vessels reached safety and planned to continue their mission to “break the illegal siege of Gaza.”
The convoy departed Barcelona, Spain earlier this month. Organizers had anticipated more than 70 boats and 1,000 international participants would join the effort, with additional vessels planned to meet the original fleet as it crossed the Mediterranean eastward.
Greece’s foreign ministry said Thursday it had requested Israel remove its ships from the area and offered assistance to help activists disembark in Greece for repatriation.
Solidarity demonstrations supporting the flotilla took place in multiple cities including Rome, Athens and Istanbul.
Neither Spain nor Brazil has issued statements regarding their citizens’ detention and transfer to Israel. However, both countries joined other nations in a Thursday statement condemning Israel’s interception and detention of activists in international waters as “flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law.”
This marks the second attempt by the Global Sumud Flotilla to reach Gaza within a year. Israeli authorities previously stopped a similar effort involving approximately 50 boats and 500 activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several elected officials.
Israel arrested and later deported all participants from that previous attempt, including Ávila, who alleged mistreatment during detention. Israeli authorities rejected those accusations.
