ISTANBUL

Fifteen Turkish activists, unlawfully detained by Israel aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla, landed at Istanbul Airport on Tuesday.

Departing from Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan’s capital Amman at 4.35 pm local time, a Turkish Airlines flight arrived in Istanbul at 6.50 pm.

The activists were welcomed at the airport’s VIP lounge by their families, officials, and many citizens.

Earlier on Tuesday, the activists arrived at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan to return to Türkiye.

The activists, who had been held at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, were transported to the border in prison transfer vehicles.

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Wednesday and detained more than 470 activists from over 50 countries.

The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.

Israel has maintained the blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 67,100 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.