UN voices alarm over Israel's abuse of Global Sumud Flotilla activists

The UN Human Rights Office has voiced concern over the ill-treatment of activists aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who were intercepted in international waters and transferred to Israeli prisons in the occupied territories.

“We have received worrying information of ill-treatment and violations of due process rights of the flotilla participants,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the office "has long raised the alarm regarding the intentionally degrading conditions" in Israeli prisons and detention centers.

Nine members of the Gaza aid flotilla arrived home in Switzerland on Sunday after being deported by Israel, with some saying that they had been subjected to inhumane conditions whilst in detention there.

“The participants condemned the inhumane detention conditions and the humiliating and degrading treatment they suffered upon their arrest and incarceration,” a statement by the flotilla group representing the activists said.

The group also said that it is “deeply concerned” about the ten Swiss nationals who remain detained by Israel.

Detainees described being subjected to sleep deprivation, denied food and water, and in some cases, beaten, kicked, and confined in cages. They said Israeli forces refused to provide them with basic necessities, including food, water, and medicine.

Israeli minister ‘proudly’ defends abuse of Thunberg, other Sumud flotilla activists

The Israeli minister proudly defends the mistreatment of hundreds of international activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The flotilla was near the Gaza shore when Israeli forces intercepted the humanitarian convoy overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday, while it was sailing in international waters.

The Israeli military seized more than 40 boats, detained the activists on board, and took them to the Israeli-occupied territories.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli military for its unlawful interception of the Sumud Flotilla in international waters.

Global outcry: Israel’s Gaza flotilla interception sparks protests, strikes, diplomatic expulsions

Israel’s flotilla seizure has sparked global protests, strikes, and diplomatic expulsions over its assault on unarmed civilians in Gaza.

Activists have now been imprisoned, awaiting deportation, with several transferred to the notorious Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert in southern Israeli-occupied territories, a facility long associated with reports of human rights abuses.

More than 470 activists from over 50 countries were detained by the Israeli forces following attacks on the flotilla last week.

Yvonne Ridley on intercepted Gaza flotilla goes missing in Israeli prison

British journalist and activist Yvonne Ridley, who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, has gone missing after being imprisoned by Israeli forces.

Massive rallies were held in several European, Asian, and Latin American capitals on Friday in support of Palestine and in condemnation of Israel’s aggressive raids on the Gaza-bound Global Samud Flotilla.

The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s brutal blockade of the besieged territory.

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

Since October 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza, at least 460 Palestinians, including 154 children, have died of hunger as Israel continues to starve the besieged population.

Meanwhile, the ongoing war has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children.

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