Israel Deports Gaza Flotilla Activists Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila After Detention

Israel deported two Gaza flotilla activists, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila, after their detention following the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete.

“Israel has deported two foreign activists who had been abducted from a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says”

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that the Global Sumud Flotilla was made up of 22 boats and about 175 activists, and that all the other activists were taken to Crete and freed.

Al Jazeera

Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X that authorities had completed their investigation and confirmed the two activists had been deported, adding, "Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza."

NBC News said the two activists were among dozens intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete, hundreds of miles from Israel, and that no formal charges were publicized.

The incident was tied to Israel’s blockade policy, with NBC News describing the flotilla’s mission as breaking the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

Adalah, the rights group representing the activists, said their detention was unlawful and that Israel’s accusations were baseless, while the BBC reported that Israel suspected Abu Keshek of links with a terrorist group and Ávila of illegal activity.

Hadeel Abu Salih, a lawyer for Adalah, told reporters that the detention was "a sham proceeding with no legal basis, intended to punish them for attempting to challenge Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza".

Anadolu Ajansı

The Jerusalem Post reported that the two activists were released from Ashkelon’s Shikma detention facility on Sunday, and that the Foreign Ministry said they were handed over to the immigration authority, which deported them to an undisclosed location.

Al Jazeera said Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X that "Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, from the provocation flotilla, were deported today from Israel" after an investigation.

Al Jazeera also reported that an Israeli court rejected an appeal contesting the pair’s detention on Wednesday, and that the rights group called the ruling “unlawful.”

While the deportations unfolded, NBC News reported that an Israeli strike hit a vehicle in Khan Younis’s Al-Amal neighborhood late Sunday morning, killing at least two people including a Hamas police officer, according to the Nasser hospital.

“Israel deports two activists detained on board Gaza flotilla Two pro-Palestinian activists who were detained in Israel after sailing on a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been deported”

BBC

NBC News identified Col. Wessam Abdel-Hadi, who heads the police investigation department in Khan Younis, as one of the fatalities, and said the Israeli military was reviewing the strike.

NBC News also said the fatalities were among Palestinians in Gaza since an October fragile ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas, while "almost daily Israeli fire" continued.

The BBC framed the flotilla case as part of a broader blockade dispute, with the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

In the same wider context, the BBC reported that the UN warned the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire despite the ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas six months ago, following two years of devastating war.