Gaza flotilla activists allege abuse, sexual assault in Israeli detention

Organisers of Global Sumud Flotilla say freed activists abducted by Israel reported at least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape. Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing. Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla say freed foreign activists who were abducted from international waters faced abuse while in Israeli detention, including at least 15 reporting incidents of sexual assault or rape. The Global Sumud Flotilla organisers added in a statement on Telegram on Friday that several activists were hospitalised with injuries, a day after hundreds were deported from Israel. Germany said some of its nationals who were on board the flotilla had been injured and that some accusations were “serious”, without giving further details. A legal source in Italy said prosecutors there were investigating possible crimes, including kidnapping and sexual assault. “We’re very concerned by these reports,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said when asked about the allegations at a regular briefing on Friday, pointing to the reports from activists, as well as videos shared by an Israeli minister “which shows the humiliating treatment of the people who were detained by the flotilla”. Israeli forces abducted about 430 people on board 50 ships in international waters on Tuesday to halt a flotilla of volunteers trying to bring aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, Israel’s far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released a video showing him taunting the foreign activists at an Israeli landing craft, which had been converted into a makeshift prison with barbed wire and shipping containers in Israel’s city of Ashdod. The video, which showed the abductees cable-tied and kneeling while Israel’s national anthem blared, has put pressure on the Israeli government to explain the mistreatment of the activists. Dujarric said those still being held “need to be released and sent home”, adding that “people who were responsible for that treatment should be held to account.” ‘Stripped, thrown to the ground, kicked’ Global Sumud Flotilla, the organisers of the aid shipment, said the group had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse, with the worst occurring on a vessel converted into a makeshift prison. Detainees were thrown into the containers and beaten over the head and ribs, the group said in a statement. They suffered multiple cases of sexual abuse, including “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, including anal rape and forcible penetration by a handgun,” it added. “Shot with rubber bullets at close range. Tens of people’s bones broken,” the organisers said in a separate post on Telegram. “While the world’s eye is trained on the suffering of our participants, we cannot emphasise enough that this is a mere glimpse of the brutality Israel imposes daily on Palestinian hostages.” Luca Poggi, an Italian economist among those detained on board the flotilla, told the Reuters news agency on his arrival in Rome: “We were stripped, thrown to the ground, kicked. Many of us were tasered, some were sexually assaulted, and some were denied access to a lawyer.” Ilaria Mancosu, an Italian activist, said the flotilla members were removed from their boats to two so-called prison ships. Those put on one of the ships suffered more violence than the other, she said. They were locked in a container and beaten by five soldiers, suffering fractures to the ribs and arms. Some had serious injuries to their eyes and ears caused by tasers. Mancosu said they spent two days on the prison ships with no running water and used cardboard and plastic to keep warm at night since they had no blankets and were stripped of most of their clothes. Once on land, they were made to kneel for several hours and kicked and shoved if they moved or spoke. They were then taken to a prison where they were moved from room to room periodically to keep them from sleeping, she added. Rome prosecutors are investigating the possible crimes of kidnapping, torture and sexual assault and will hear testimony from activists who have returned to Italy over the coming days, the Italian legal source told Reuters. A German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said consular officials who met German activists on their arrival from Israel to Istanbul, Turkiye on Thursday, reported that a number had injuries and were undergoing medical checks. Humane treatment of German nationals was an “absolute priority”, the spokesperson said, and “we naturally expect a full explanation, as some of the allegations that have been made are serious.” Sabrina Charik, who helped organise the return of 37 French citizens from the flotilla, told Reuters that five French participants had been hospitalised in Turkiye, some with broken ribs or fractured vertebrae. Some had made detailed accusations of sexu