Flotilla activists faced torture and ill-treatment in Israeli detention; Adalah provided consultations to over 220 activists
All Unlawfully Detained Flotilla Activists Released from Ktziot Prison Ahead of Deportation / Humanitarian Flotilla Activist Zohar Regev Released from Unlawful Detention
21 May 2026
Adalah has received official confirmation from the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) and state officials that all detained Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) activists have been released from the Ktziot detention facility and are currently en route to deportation. The majority of the participants are being transferred to Ramon Airport to be flown out of the country. Adalah’s legal team is actively monitoring the transit process to ensure that all activists are safely and fully deported without further delay.
While all international flotilla participants were pending deportation by Israeli authorities, a court hearing was underway at the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court for activist Zohar Regev, who holds Israeli citizenship. Today, the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court ordered the release of activist Zohar Regev from an unlawful detention following her interception in international waters on a flotilla en route to Gaza. Regev, a citizen of Israel, was released under restrictive conditions, including a NIS 5,000 self-guaranty bond and a 60-day ban on entering the Gaza Strip. Following Regev’s release, the procedures of release for all activists of the humanitarian flotilla to Gaza have now been completed. Israeli authorities were holding her under unfounded and contradictory accusations of “illegal entry into Israel", "unlawful stay", and for an attempt to break the blockade on Gaza. These charges are absurd considering that she was forcefully abducted by the Israeli military from international waters and brought into Israeli territory entirely against her will while en route to Gaza to challenge an unlawful blockade that has caused widespread starvation and deprivation to the Palestinian people there.
Lawyers Provided Counsel to Hundreds of Detained Flotilla Participants who Reported Extreme Violence, Sexual Humiliation, and Severe Injuries by Israeli forces
20 May 2026
Adalah attorneys, together with a team of volunteer lawyers, have just left Ashdod Port (Wednesday evening 20 May) after providing legal consultation to hundreds of unlawfully detained flotilla participants. Due to the severe access restrictions, the lawyers were not able to see all of the detained participants. Adalah can confirm that all of those detained have now passed through the Israeli immigration initial processing stage and almost all are being transferred to Ktziot prison. The legal team reports systemic violations of due process, and widespread physical and psychological abuse by Israeli authorities against the activists.
Our team received a large number of complaints of extreme violence, revealing a new pattern of physical abuse deliberately used by Israeli authorities. This violence resulted in severe, widespread injuries, including at least three individuals who were hospitalized and subsequently released. The lawyers documented dozens of participants with suspected broken ribs and resulting difficulty in breathing. Reports also indicated the frequent use of Tasers against participants, as well as injuries sustained from the use of rubber bullets during the interception of the flotilla boats and on the military boat to which they were transferred. The detained activists were subjected to extreme violence both on the vessels and during the transfer time between the boats and the port. Furthermore, authorities forced the activists into stress positions; while being moved around the port, they were forced to walk bent completely forward while guards violently held their backs down. Participants were also forced to sit onto their knees inside the boat for prolonged periods of time.
In addition to this physical abuse, the participants were subjected to severe degradation and sexual harassment and humiliation. Further, several women participants had their hijabs ripped off by Israeli authorities.
Adalah continues to monitor the situation closely. The participants will be brought tomorrow to appear before a tribunal pending their deportation. Adalah will demand to be present at these hearings to provide them with legal representation. Adalah persists in our demand for the immediate, unconditional release of all flotilla participants, currently held unlawfully.
Adalah's response to videos showing abuse, humiliation, and incitement against flotilla activists
20 May 2026
In a video from the Ashdod port published by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli prison guards and soldiers are seen beating and humiliating activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) missions who were intercepted while attempting to break the illegal blockade on Gaza and to deliver humanitarian aid. Prior to this, Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev uploaded a video in which she repeatedly calls the activists “terror supporters” and“drugged with alcohol.” Additionally, in another video attributed to Moti Kastel, an Israeli reporter (Channel 14), the activists are seen kneeling with their hands cuffed behind their backs, their faces to the floor, while the Israeli national anthem plays in the background.
Adalah stated in response: “Following the illegal interception of the flotilla in international waters and the illegal abduction of over 400 activists from around the world, Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. These events come after Adalah documented similar patterns of ill-treatment against activists in previous flotilla missions, for which Israel faced zero accountability. Adalah attorneys, along with a team of dedicated volunteers, entered the port facilities in recent hours, are providing legal consultation to them, and will continue to demand their immediate and unconditional release. The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials.”
Intercepted flotilla participants detained at Ashdod Port; taken into Israel against their will as Adalah attorneys enter for legal consultations
20 May 2026
Following the unlawful Israeli military interception of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in international waters, the participants who were on board, including international solidarity activists, human rights defenders, and medical volunteers, are being brought to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will.
Following an initial period in which information regarding the whereabouts, legal status, and physical well-being of those aboard was severely restricted, Adalah’s staff attorneys, alongside a team of volunteer lawyers, have been granted access to Ashdod Port to conduct legal consultations.
Adalah strongly reiterates that the military interception of civilian vessels in international waters, the forced transfer of international citizens into Israeli territory against their will, and the denial of safe passage to deliver humanitarian assistance to a blockaded population constitute grave violations of international law. These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. The legal team will challenge the legality of these detentions and demand the immediate release of all flotilla participants.
Photo credit: official Twitter page of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
