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Gaza activists who were detained by Israel, and later pinned to the ground to the taunts of the country’s far-right police minister, have been released from prison and sent home.
The activists, whose vessel was intercepted earlier this week in international waters by Israeli naval forces as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were all deported from Israel on Thursday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Their treatment by police officers under Itamar Ben-Gvir’s direction drew an international outcry and a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir and at least one other cabinet member in Netanyahu’s government, Minister of Transport Miri Regev, posted campaign-style videos of themselves visiting the port and lambasting the protesters, attention-grabbing antics ahead of potential early elections in Israel.
Flotilla organizers said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance, something aid bodies say is still in short supply despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.
Israeli rights group Adalah said the estimated 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel.
Ben-Gvir’s video showed officers forcing an activist to the ground after she chants “Free, free Palestine.”
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, in what appears to be an outdoor Israeli port facility. In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area from aboard a military vessel.
2 Italian activists allege physical assault
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, one of several activists separated from the others and flown home earlier, said he had been beaten up on arrival in Israeli detention in what he described as a container, calling it as a “place of terror.”
“They kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face. These are people who know what they are doing, so I don’t have any major visible marks … They would beat you up and would tell you ‘Welcome to Israel,'” he told reporters on arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Another Italian activist, Dario Carotenuto, a lawmaker from the 5-Star Movement, said he had been punched in the eye and kicked while detained.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. Activists who were part of previous flotillas intercepted by Israel also said they faced abuse by Israeli forces, something Israel rejected.
The detention and taunting of the activists led France, Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands to summon top Israeli diplomats in their countries.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called Israel’s treatment of the activists “abominable.” It is believed there were 12 Canadian citizens on the flotilla, though the details of their deportation weren’t immediately clear.
Canada and Spain are among countries that have previously imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing allegations that they incited violence against Palestinians, including also in the West Bank.
Poland’s foreign minister called for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country on Thursday. Italy’s foreign minister will ask EU foreign ministers to discuss at their next meeting the adoption of sanctions against the far-right minister.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that whatever one thinks of the flotilla, “our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible.”
Past flotillas — which have also included Canadian citizens— were also intercepted by Israel, with participants later deported.
Canada is among the nations summoning Israeli ambassadors over a video that shows Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir seemingly taunting detained Gaza flotilla activists kneeling on the ground with their hands tied. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the video ‘abominable.’
Netanyahu rebukes Ben-Gvir
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country was conducting special flights that would bring Turkish citizens as well as third-country participants to Turkey. Those on board the flotilla included citizens of Spain, South Korea and Ireland.
“We will continue to uphold the rights of our citizens and fulfill our humanitarian responsibility toward civilians in Gaza,” Fidan said.
Spain’s foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart from Israel.
During Israel’s two-year military assault in Gaza, launched after the October 2023 Hamas attacks, Israeli troops frequently lined up detained Palestinians on the ground, with their hands bound.
“Look at them now. See how they look now, not heroes and not anything,” Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks by the activists while carrying a large Israeli flag.
Posting her own video at Ashdod port, Minister of Transport Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu’s political party, said: “This is what should be done to supporters of terror who came to break the siege on Gaza.”
Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.” The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said he “betrayed [the] dignity of his nation.”
Ben-Gvir’s political base includes some of Israel’s most nationalist voters, a bloc that Netanyahu’s Likud party has in the past tried to woo ahead of national elections, the next of which is due by Oct. 27.
This week, Israel moved closer to a snap election after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament, with opinion polls showing Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since the 2023 Hamas attacks.