Gaza flotilla activists recount abuse after release from Israeli custody

Activists detained by Israeli forces after attempting to deliver aid to Tel Aviv-blockaded Gaza aboard a flotilla have recounted being subjected to physical and sexual abuse while in custody, according to organizers of the mission.

Reuters published the report on Friday after Israeli forces detained 430 people aboard 50 ships in international waters as they moved to stop a volunteer flotilla carrying aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said it had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse involving detainees. According to the group, some of the most serious incidents occurred aboard an Israeli landing craft converted into a temporary detention facility using shipping containers and barbed wire.

The organization said detainees were beaten and subjected to "humiliating strip searches, sexual taunting, groping and pulling of genitals, and multiple accounts of rape."

"At least 12 sexual assaults have been documented on that vessel alone,” the statement added.

Mi Hoa Lee, an activist from Spain, said she was beaten and tasered inside a darkened container aboard one of the vessels.

"Then they kept beating me until I almost lost my conscience[ness]," she said in a video released by the flotilla organizers.

Ilaria Mancosu, an Italian activist, told Reuters that detainees aboard one of the prison ships suffered fractures and taser-related injuries. She also said detainees were denied blankets and running water for two days.

The accounts prompted international reactions. United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "We’re very concerned by these reports."

A legal source in Italy said Rome prosecutors were investigating possible crimes, including kidnapping, torture, and sexual assault.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was consulting EU counterparts about possible sanctions against far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following outrage over footage showing him mocking detained activists.

An Israeli prison service spokesperson, however, said, "The allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis."

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