ISTANBUL

Israeli authorities on Thursday began to hold deportation hearings for activists detained from an international aid flotilla headed to the blockaded Gaza Strip, an Israeli legal center said.

In a statement, Adalah, the first Palestinian Arab-run legal center in Israel, said it had received calls from participants reporting that immigration officials had initiated hearings on their detention and deportation orders at the Port of Ashdod, shortly after Israeli naval forces attacked dozens of flotilla ships late Wednesday and early Thursday.

“These proceedings were initiated without prior notice to their lawyers and while denying participants access to legal counsel,” Adalah said.

It called the steps “a grave violation of due process and a denial of the participants’ fundamental rights,” saying that it would continue efforts to secure legal access and pursue legal action if necessary.

Adalah later said that its legal team managed to enter the port to meet the detained activists after they were initially denied access by Israeli authorities.  

443 activists from 47 countries detained

The Global Sumud Flotilla, an international aid convoy, said 443 activists from 47 countries were detained after their vessels were attacked by Israeli forces near Gaza’s coast.

It said activists on the vessels were forcibly taken from their vessels by Israeli forces, calling their detention “unlawful abduction.”

According to the official flotilla tracker, 21 vessels were attacked by Israeli naval forces, 19 others are believed to have been attacked, and three were still en route to Gaza.

The activists aboard the ships attacked by Israel were of various nationalities, including Spaniards, Italians, Brazilians, Turks, Greeks, Americans, Germans, Swedes, British, and French citizens, and many others.

Israel said that the activists were being transferred to Ashdod ahead of being deported to Europe.  

History of raids on aid ships

The Israeli raid came despite appeals by international organizations, including Amnesty International, for the protection of the aid flotilla. The UN also warned that any attack on the convoy would be unacceptable.

For years, Israel, as the occupying power, has attacked Gaza-bound ships, seized their cargo, and deported activists on board.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August. It was the first time in years that more than 50 ships sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civilian supporters from over 45 countries.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.