Rania Abushamala
20 May 2026•Update: 20 May 2026
Israeli human rights group Adalah accused authorities on Wednesday of employing “a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation” against activists detained from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after an attack in international waters.
In a statement, Adalah said videos circulated from Ashdod Port in southern Israel showed Israeli prison guards and soldiers assaulting and humiliating activists who had attempted to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
A video shared by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed the activists after their arrival at the port, while Transportation Minister Miri Regev uploaded another video in which she described the activists as “terror supporters” and “drugged with alcohol.”
Footage aired by Israeli Channel 14 also showed the activists kneeling with their hands cuffed behind their backs and their faces to the floor while the Israeli national anthem played in the background.
“Following the illegal interception of the flotilla in international waters and the illegal abduction of over 400 activists from around the world, Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people,” Adalah said.
The rights group said that it had documented “similar patterns of ill-treatment” during previous flotilla missions “for which Israel faced zero accountability.”
Adalah said its lawyers and volunteer team had entered the port facilities to provide legal assistance to the activists and would continue demanding their “immediate and unconditional release.”
“The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials,” it added.
Organizers of the aid flotilla said late Tuesday that more than 87 activists had begun a hunger strike in protest against their abduction by Israel and in solidarity with 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
According to the organizers, Israeli forces attacked a total of 50 vessels carrying 428 people from 44 countries, including 78 Turkish citizens, in international waters on Monday.
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.
