ISTANBUL — Activists on board a humanitarian flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces on their way to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza say they were subjected to beatings, torture and sexual violence by Israeli soldiers who detained them.
The Global Sumud Flotilla of 50 boats, carrying food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies for civilians in Gaza, was intercepted over the course of several days after departing Turkey, with the final interception on Tuesday.
The 428 passengers including journalists and at least one lawmaker from Italy were transferred onto military boats and brought to a larger military vessel at the Ashdod port in southern Israel, where they were held in containers.
Their alleged treatment in detention before being deported to Turkey has already triggered international backlash.
The activists told The Associated Press they were punched and kicked, as well as dragged and pulled by their hair.
Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been barred from mandatory military service for his extreme views, sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting the activists who were detained by his police force.
The Israel-based human rights organization Adalah, which represents the flotilla activists, told CNN that its lawyers documented testimonies from participants who said they were attacked with tasers and rubber bullets and had been subjected to beatings that left them with suspected broken bones.
A statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla added that activists had been subjected to sexual violence, including “multiple accounts of rape.”
The Israel Prison Service told CNN that the “allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis,” and that it “operates in accordance with the law.”
The Israel Defense Forces also rejected allegations of abuse by soldiers, telling CNN in a statement that its “orders require respectful and appropriate treatment of flotilla participants on the intercepted vessels, and there are clear and established procedures in this regard.”
“Any concrete complaints submitted to the IDF on the matter will be examined thoroughly,” it said.
Adalah’s international advocacy coordinator Miriam Azem stood by the allegations. “In the past 10 years of Adalah representing activists on flotillas, this is by far the most severe violence and assaults that we’ve encountered,” she told CNN.
Adalah said they would let the activists who said they had experienced sexual violence speak for themselves. This was because some survivors did not want to go into detail about their assaults, Azem said, while others were still in Israeli detention at the time they spoke with Adalah, and feared repercussions.
Australian film maker and activist Juliet Lamont told CNN that she was beaten and sexually assaulted by five men in a shipping container on board what she called an Israeli “prison boat.”
Speaking Thursday to reporters at Istanbul Airport while she was still wearing the grey prison tracksuit issued by the Israel Prison Service (IPS), Lamont said she believes activists were targeted in a “relentless” and “planned campaign of violence” that she believes is intended to ensure activists do not return.
“You know they’ve broken our bones, but they haven’t broken our soul,” Lamont said.
Speaking to Australian reporters from a hospital in Istanbul, Australian national Zack Schofield described what he called “a constant barrage of violence” and “brutality” while in detention.
“I myself was zip-tied in a torture position with my hands behind my back, for 40 minutes until I almost vomited from the pain. Then I had my head slammed into the table during the immigration process, constant knees to the chest, face, any kind of way they could there were pliers in my ears pulling them back,” he said, adding that he saw other people “chokeslammed” into the ground.
In other video testimony from activists filmed at the Istanbul Airport on Thursday, flotilla activists described similar forms of severe mistreatment in custody.
Germany said some of its nationals had been injured and that some accusations were “serious,” without giving further details, Reuters reported.
A legal source in Italy said prosecutors there were investigating possible crimes, including kidnapping and sexual assault, it also reported.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Friday that she had received information detailing “the appalling abuse of Canadians who were detained in Israel,” and that Canada “unequivocally condemns the grave mistreatment of Canadians in Israel.” She added those responsible should be held accountable.
The allegations come amid growing international criticism of Ben-Gvir, who shared footage to his X account on Wednesday taunting flotilla activists kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs as he held the flag of Israel and called them “terror supporters.”
Leaders from across Europe and other countries whose nationals had taken part in the flotilla condemned the activists’ treatment shown in the videos. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said it showed an “unacceptable” violation of their human dignity.
The outcry was such that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare public reprimand of Ben-Gvir’s handling of the detainees, calling the action “not in line with Israel’s values.” Netanyahu has supported the decision to intercept the flotilla.
The Gaza-bound flotilla’s aim had been to deliver humanitarian aid to the blockaded strip where basic conditions, including food and water, remain difficult for many civilians there, despite the October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Source: Saudi Gazette