Israel begins deporting hundreds of flotilla activists
[May 21, 2026]
By MELANIE LIDMAN
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has released hundreds of activists who
attempted to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and are in the
process of deporting them, according to a legal organization working
with the flotilla.
The Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab
Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said Thursday that most of the
international activists are in transit to a civilian airport near the
southern Israeli city of Eilat for deportation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he instructed that
the activists be deported “as soon as possible,” after sharply rebuking
Israel’s national security minister for a provocative video showing the
minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and
kneeling.
Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative
flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” the way National Security
Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with
Israel’s values and norms.”
Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the
approximately 430 detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied
behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside
what appears to be a makeshift detention area on the deck of a ship.
The flotilla, made up of more than 50 boats, departed for Gaza last week
from Turkey, near Cyprus. Organizers said they want to draw renewed
attention to the conditions for nearly 2 million Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip.
Israel has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas” with
no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a tiny, symbolic
amount of aid.
Israeli forces began stopping the boats around 268 kilometers (167
miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.
Israel also stopped 20 boats from the flotilla on April 30 near Crete.
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Israeli naval forces sail a confiscated Gaza-bound flotilla boat
into Israel's Ashdod port after intercepting the vessel on the
Mediterranean Sea, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
This week, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against several
European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror.”
Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took
control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it
after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed
around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7,
2023.
Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel
says it’s intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which
has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has
also greatly restricted movement in and out.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that
started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to
Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run
government, doesn’t give a breakdown between civilians and
combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and
publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the
international community.
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