Israel extends detention of Spanish activist after Gaza flotilla raid

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Israel extended the detention of Spanish activist Reyes Rigo Cervilla on Tuesday for one week following a raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, Israeli media reported.

“All activists of the Gaza flotilla have been deported from Israel, except for Cervilla, whose detention has been extended for a week,” the public broadcaster KAN said.

The outlet claimed that the Spanish activist “bit a dentist at the Ketziot Prison in the Negev.”

KAN said the dentist sustained a minor injury and was treated on-site, and police were called to the prison to complete legal procedures.

The activist’s detention was initially extended until Wednesday, before authorities announced an additional one-week extension on Tuesday.

The flotilla, made up of activists from various nations, had set sail to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza when it was attacked by Israeli forces in international waters last week, and over 470 activists from 50 countries were detained.

Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable, with widespread starvation and the spread of diseases.