Update: All of the international Global Sumud Flotilla activists were deported by the Israeli authorities to Türkiye on 21 May 2026. Many participants had broken bones and wounds, with some reporting they were sexually assaulted. GCHR calls for an investigation into the abuse.

Among the 428 activists currently detained by Israeli forces from the Global Sumud Flotilla are human rights defenders from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) stands in solidarity with the human rights aims of all the activists who have been trying to bring humanitarian supplies to Gaza and calls on the Israeli government to release them immediately.

Among those detained on 18 May 2026 after being taken by force off boats in international waters are three Omani human rights defenders, Jamal Al-Raisi, Mohammad Al-Hadidi and Mazin Al-Aamri. Al-Hadidi and Al-Aamri had first managed to evade interception and change course away from the Greek coast; however, they were subsequently caught by the Israeli navy on their boat the Lifta (Jandabar).

Other Flotilla participants who have been taken to land by the Israeli navy include Tunisian woman human rights defender Hasna Boussen and five other activists from Tunisia; Moroccan woman human rights defender Chaimae Derrazi and eight other activists from Morocco; Tawfeeq Ali Alsaedi of Libya; two Bahraini women human rights defenders Salwa Jaber and Dina Yousif; seven activists from Algeria; Mohamed Elewa from Egypt; and Abdelrahman Ghazal and Abdullah Ghabbash from Jordan.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is part of the Freedom Flotillas that have been trying to break the siege of the Gaza Strip by bringing food and medical supplies by boat and by land. The latest group of 54 boats departed from Marmaris Türkiye on 14 May 2025 before being intercepted at sea on 18 and 19 May 2026 by the Israeli forces, over 250 nautical miles from land, and outside of the waters of Israel and Gaza.

A previous flotilla was also intercepted by Israeli forces on 30 April 2026. The combined missions in the past month include over 70 boats and over a thousand participants from over 70 countries.

Videos from some of the boats intercepted this week show water guns and rubber bullets being used against the activists.

Local human rights organisation Adalah confirmed that the Israeli authorities took the activists through the port of Ashdod, to begin transferring them to Ketzi’a prison in the Negev desert.

On 20 May 2026, videos were also released showing detainees being held in stress position with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.

Following the previous interception, most activists were deported immediately, but Global Sumud Flotilla leaders Thiago Ávila of Brazil and Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian-Spanish activist, were taken to court, held in isolation before being deported after 10 days on 10 May 2026, leading to concerns about other Flotilla activists being held.

Recommendations

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) calls on the international community to act to protect peaceful civilian solidarity missions, and to demand that the Israeli authorities immediately release all activists, and return all seized boats. While they are in custody, all the activists must be granted immediate access to legal representation, medical care, and consular support.