ISLAMABAD: Israel has deported 137 more foreign activists detained from an aid flotilla attempting to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, as international condemnation mounts over the arrests of hundreds of humanitarian volunteers.
The deportees include nationals from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Jordan and several other countries, according to a statement posted by Israel’s foreign ministry on X.
“137 more provocateurs of the Hamas–Sumud flotilla were deported today to Turkiye,” the ministry said, adding that “Israel seeks to expedite the deportation of all provocateurs.”
On Friday, Israel deported four Italian nationals — the first of hundreds detained since Israeli naval forces began intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla earlier this week.
Largest aid flotilla intercepted in years
The flotilla, comprising more than 40 vessels carrying food, medical aid and activists from over 40 countries, set sail in late August aiming to deliver humanitarian relief to the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Israeli navy began seizing the boats on Wednesday, saying they were attempting to “breach a lawful naval blockade.” Organisers said the flotilla was intercepted in international waters, with Israeli commandos boarding and diverting the ships to Ashdod port.
An Israeli official, cited by AFP, said boats with more than 400 people on board had been stopped. Among those detained were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, and Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan.
Video broadcast by flotilla organisers showed Israeli forces boarding the final vessel, the Marinette, on Friday morning some 42 nautical miles (78 km) off the Gaza coast. The Polish-flagged ship, carrying six crew members, was reportedly the last to be seized.
Journalists among those detained
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned Israel’s detention of more than 20 journalists who were accompanying the flotilla to document the mission.
“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their work is a serious violation of the right to inform and be informed,” said Martin Roux, head of RSF’s crisis desk.
“RSF condemns the illegal arrest of the news professionals who were on board these ships to cover a humanitarian operation of unprecedented scale.”
The International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza said several detainees had begun a hunger strike to protest their detention.
Israel claims the activists were attempting to aid Hamas — the Palestinian group that governs Gaza — a charge the flotilla organisers have strongly denied, saying their mission was entirely humanitarian.
Global condemnation
International criticism has grown since the flotilla’s seizure. Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced his country was expelling Israeli diplomats and suspending its free trade agreement with Israel.
European governments, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece and Ireland, have called on Israel to respect international law and ensure the safety of all detainees.
Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), representing more than 16 million workers, said that “attacking or seizing nonviolent, humanitarian vessels in international waters is illegal under international law. The seas must not be turned into a theatre of war.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese described the interceptions as an “illegal abduction,” writing on X that her “thoughts are with the people of Gaza, trapped in Israel’s killing fields.”
Pakistan seeks release of citizens
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan was “closely monitoring” developments related to the flotilla and working through diplomatic channels to secure the release of former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who remains in Israeli custody.
“Over the past 36 hours, Pakistan has been actively engaged in diplomatic outreach, including through friendly countries, to ensure the safety and early return of all its nationals,” Dar said in a statement on social media.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also spoke by phone with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, the party leader of Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, reaffirming Pakistan’s condemnation of Israel’s “unlawful interception” of the flotilla in international waters.
“Pakistan has always raised its voice for our Palestinian brothers and sisters at every international forum and will continue to do so,” PM Sharif said.
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The Gaza Strip remains under a crippling blockade that Israel reimposed in March, sharply limiting the flow of food, fuel and medicine.
The United Nations has warned that famine is spreading and child malnutrition is rising rapidly across the enclave.
The Global Sumud Flotilla — the largest of its kind since 2010 — sought to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, most of whom depend on international assistance for survival.
Israel says all intercepted vessels and detainees are being handled “in accordance with the law” and that deportations are ongoing.
Organisers of the flotilla, however, have vowed to continue their efforts to “break the siege” and deliver aid to Gaza “by sea, by land or by air.”
