ISTANBUL

Three foreign activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship seized by Israel have agreed to be deported to their home countries, an Israeli legal center said Sunday.

Adalah center said Antonio Mazzeo of Italy, Gabrielle Cathala of France, and US activist Jacob Berger agreed to immediate deportation.

The legal center said the three activists will be deported from Israel in the coming hours.

They are among 21 people held when the aid ship Handala was intercepted by Israeli naval forces in international waters near the coast of Gaza Saturday night and towed to Ashdod Port in southern Israel.

Those who refuse deportation will remain in detention and appear before a tribunal.

Adalah said its lawyers met with 17 of the 21 detainees and reported that all were in relatively stable condition.

Fifteen activists, including nationals from Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Norway, the UK, and the US, refused to sign deportation orders and remain in Israeli custody pending a tribunal hearing.

Two dual US-Israeli nationals, Huwaida Arraf and Bob Suberi, were released after police interrogation and are currently with Adalah’s legal team, the center said.

Adalah noted it has not yet been able to meet with four other detainees: Ange Sahuquet of France, Dr. Frank Romano, a dual US-French citizen, and Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed El-Bakkali of Morocco and cameraman Waad Al Musa, a US-Iraqi citizen.

The aid ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail from Italy in an attempt to break a months-long Israeli siege, which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million population on the verge of famine.

In recent months, Israel has intercepted multiple Gaza-bound aid ships in international waters.

In June, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan. A month earlier, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of aid convoys and ignoring international calls to reopen them.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 133 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 87 children.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.