Israel deports all detained activists from Gaza aid ship

ISTANBUL

Israel on Thursday deported the final two foreign activists detained from the Handala, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition boat attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the legal center Adalah, concluding five days of unlawful detention under harsh conditions.

Christian Smalls of the US and Hatem Aouini of Tunisia were expelled via Jordan after being held in Givon Prison, where they staged a hunger strike to protest their detention. Aouini was received at the border by the Tunisian Embassy, Adalah said.

“With their departure, all activists aboard the Handala boat have now been deported, and none remain in Israeli custody,” the group said in a statement Thursday.

On Wednesday, Adalah reported that seven of the volunteers remained in Israeli custody. Five—Braedon Peluso (US), Frank Romano (US-France), Santiago González Vallejo (Spain), Sergio Toribio Sanchez (Spain), and Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway)—were transferred to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for deportation.

Smalls and Aouini were still in Givon Prison at the time, both on the fifth day of a hunger strike. The other 14 activists had been deported on Tuesday.

Adalah, which has provided legal support for the detainees, accused Israeli authorities of violating the activists’ rights by detaining them without a legal basis and subjecting them to poor conditions.

The Handala ship, carrying baby formula, food, and medicine, was seized by Israeli forces near the Gaza coast on July 26, with 21 unarmed civilians on board, including lawmakers, medics, and volunteers.

The aid ship set sail from Italy in an attempt to break a months-long Israeli siege, which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million population on the verge of famine.

In recent months, Israel has intercepted multiple Gaza-bound aid ships in international waters.

In June, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan. A month earlier, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of aid convoys and ignoring international calls to reopen them.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 154 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 89 children.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 60,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.