All Freedom Flotilla activists, including nine Moroccans, to be deported after Israeli interception

All activists, including nine Moroccans, detained after Israeli forces intercepted the Freedom Flotilla and Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters were being released and prepared for deportation on Wednesday, according to lawyers and rights groups, after days of uncertainty over the fate of the convoy participants and mounting allegations of abuse in Israeli custody.

Abdelhaq Benkadi, representative of the Arab Lawyers Union attached to the flotilla, told Hespress that lawyers from Adalah Legal Center had received official confirmation that all detainees held at Ktzi’ot prison would be transferred for deportation through Ramon Airport.

The flotillas, carrying international activists, doctors and humanitarian volunteers seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade on the enclave, were intercepted earlier this week by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean before being transferred to Ashdod port. 

Nine Moroccan activists were among those detained, according to organizers. Communication with participants was cut for hours after the interception, while activists later launched a hunger strike in protest against their detention and treatment.

Adalah described the interception of civilian vessels in international waters and the subsequent detention of activists as a “grave violation of international law,” saying its legal teams faced restricted access to several detainees during the first stages of detention. 

Benkadi said lawyers documented what they described as “systematic procedural violations” alongside allegations of physical and psychological abuse during detention and transfer operations.

According to testimonies relayed by Adalah lawyers, several activists reported beatings, repeated use of electric stun devices and injuries caused by rubber bullets during the interception and transfers between military vessels and detention facilities. 

At least three detainees were transferred to hospital before later returning to detention, Benkadi said, while lawyers also documented suspected rib fractures and breathing difficulties among several activists.

He added that some detainees were forced into painful stress positions during transfers, including prolonged kneeling inside military boats, while several female activists reported harassment and the removal of headscarves during detention.