Brazilian activist on seized Gaza aid ship has begun hunger strike: Rights organization

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen, has begun a hunger and water strike, the Israeli human rights organization and legal center Adalah said Tuesday.

Israeli forces seized the vessel in international waters early Monday, detaining 12 activists from several countries while they were attempting to reach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid to challenge an Israeli blockade.

The activists included citizens from Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain and Türkiye.

Four activists were deported from Israel on Tuesday, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, while the remaining eight, who refused to sign deportation orders, are being held at Givon Prison in Ramla, Israel.

The eight appeared before a Ramla detention court Tuesday, facing deportation orders issued by Israel’s Interior Ministry, Adalah noted.

Adalah’s legal team, consisting of attorneys Hadeel Abu Saleh, Lubna Toma and volunteer lawyer Afnan Khalifa, argued during the five-hour hearing that Israel’s interception of the Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition aiming to break Gaza’s blockade, violated international law.

The team contended that the activists were forcibly brought to Israel from international waters, labeling them “illegal infiltrators” without legal basis, Adalah said.

The lawyers condemned Israel’s blockade of Gaza as an unlawful act of collective punishment aimed at starving civilians and violating interim measures issued by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. They asserted the activists acted within their legal rights to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, where residents face famine risks.

The legal team demanded the activists’ immediate, unconditional release and their return to the Madleen to complete their mission of delivering aid to Gaza before returning to their home countries.

They argued that Israel lacks jurisdiction, as the vessel was intercepted in international waters, rendering the detentions and deportation orders unlawful, according to the center.

The detained activists reported being “kidnapped” and forcibly brought to Israel, emphasizing that their sole aim was to break the Israeli siege and deliver aid to Gazans, Adalah said.

They also complained of unhygienic conditions while in detention, including bed bugs and undrinkable tap water.

Israeli authorities asked the court to keep the activists detained until their deportation under Israel’s Entry Law, which allows up to 72-hour detentions for those refusing voluntary departure.

The center reiterated its call for the activists’ immediate release and return to their home countries, expecting a court decision soon.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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.