Israel deported two activists detained after leading an aid flotilla attempt aimed at challenging Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press.
The activists were Saif Abukeshek, who is Spanish-Swedish and of Palestinian origin, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian citizen. Both were members of the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee, whose stated mission was to break the blockade and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials had detained the pair for slightly more than a week after the Israeli navy intercepted the flotilla far from Gaza, off the coast of Crete.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X on Sunday that the two men were “professional provocateurs,” saying that “Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.” The Foreign Ministry also asserted at the time of the arrests that Abukeshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and that Ávila was “suspected of illegal activity,” without providing evidence, the AP reported.
At the time of the detention, Israeli authorities said the activists were being held for questioning, and that no formal charges were publicly announced. The last activists held in Israel after the operation were later deported, and upon arriving in Athens, Abukeshek said he would continue protesting Israel’s blockade of Gaza and what he said was mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
In a video comment posted on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s X account, Abukeshek said: “We have to continue mobilizing. We can’t forget the Palestinian prisoners.” He also said he would keep working on the effort to protest Israel’s naval blockade.
The flotilla operation involved dozens of activists as part of a larger effort that included 22 boats, according to the AP report. Activists said Israeli forces stormed their vessels, smashed engines, and detained some people onboard. The incident occurred hundreds of miles from Gaza and Israel, over the overnight period from Wednesday to Thursday.
Israeli officials said they moved early to stop the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved. The latest attempt came less than a year after authorities foiled an earlier Global Sumud Flotilla effort that involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, as well as lawmakers.
Spain and Brazil condemned what they described as “the kidnapping of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel” in a joint statement at the time of the arrests. The detention of the activists also prompted solidarity protests in several countries.
The deportations took place as fighting continued in Gaza. The AP report said an Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis, killing at least two people, including a Hamas police officer, according to Nasser hospital, which received the casualties.
The hospital said the two killed included Col. Wessam Abdel-Hadi, who heads the police investigation department in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the strike.
The fatalities were described as part of ongoing casualties in the coastal enclave since an October fragile ceasefire deal intended to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has remained shaky and has been followed by almost daily Israeli fire, the AP report said, with Israeli strikes and firing near military-held zones.
The report said Gaza’s health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that UN agencies and independent experts consider generally reliable, though it does not provide a civilian-versus-militant breakdown. The ministry reported at least 850 Palestinian deaths from Israeli fire, while Israel said its strikes were in response to militants’ shooting attacks and other violations.