Saber Eid
20 May 2026•Update: 20 May 2026
Eighty-seven activists aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who are being held by Israel, have begun a hunger strike to protest their detention and show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a post on US social media company X on Tuesday, the flotilla said that for the second time in three weeks, the Israeli army, which claims to be “the most moral army,” had abducted their companions from international waters.
It added that “in protest of their illegal abduction and in solidarity with the over 9,500 Palestinian hostages held in Israeli dungeons, at least 87 flotilla participants have committed to a hunger strike until they are released.”
The flotilla called for the release of all detainees held by Israeli authorities and urged governments to condemn the “act of piracy.”
The flotilla also called for lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and for the release of all abductees from the flotilla, as well as all Palestinian prisoners.
Global Sumud Flotilla on Tuesday said that all 50 vessels in its aid convoy had been seized by Israel.
Together they were carrying 428 people from 44 countries, including 78 Turkish citizens.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a post on US social media company X that all activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are on their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives.
The flotilla departed on Thursday from the Turkish district of Marmaris in a new attempt to break the illegal Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.
This was not the first such incident involving the flotilla.
In late April, the Israeli army attacked flotilla boats in international waters off the Greek island of Crete. The convoy at the time included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000 and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.
