Participants from the Global Sumud Flotilla have provided harrowing testimony about the widespread abuse, assault and torture they suffered when Israeli forces intercepted their peaceful aid convoy to Palestine in international waters.

Flotilla members say rubber bullets were fired at close range, tasers were applied to the face and upper body and stun grenades were thrown into groups of detainees. People were held in stress positions for hours under bright lights, hijabs were forcibly removed and various forms of sexual violence were deployed by Israeli forces. These included humiliating strip searches, sexual taunting, groping and pulling of genitals and multiple accounts of rape.

Some of the most horrifying accounts centre on a single vessel that participants called the “torture boat”. The Israeli naval vessel, with a makeshift prison constructed of barbed wire and metal shipping containers, became the primary site of intense violence following the interception. Here detainees were brutalised one by one by Israeli commandos.

Flotilla participant Veronica Otero witnessed the processing of nearly all 180 detainees across three days and said: “All were in many ways abused. Among them there were 36 fractures, many broken ribs, torso, shoulders, and back. People were in agony.”

At least twelve sexual assaults were documented on that vessel alone, including anal rape and forcible penetration by a handgun. Israeli soldiers tased volunteers in the face, neck and body.

At Ashdod port, the violence continued: beatings, broken ribs, sexual humiliation – all far more severe than the treatment highlighted in videos posted last week by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, which sparked global diplomatic outrage. In response, dozens of Members of the European Parliament called for an immediate suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, as well as an independent international inquiry into the full scope of EU member state complicity in the abduction, detention and documented physical and sexual violence inflicted upon flotilla participants by Israeli forces.

Testimonies

 UK participant Hannah Schafer spoke on Crispin Flintoff’s Sunday morning show about her experiences. She was detained by Israel for five days, throughout which she was kept in handcuffs, which had “Made in England” stamped on them.

Elliott Roberts claimed the vessel he was on was fired at, the BBC reported. “I was taken into a small tent straight off the boat, two soldiers were crouched down ready for me to enter, they lifted me up turned me over and smashed me into the ground and now I think I’ve got a broken spine,” he said. Documentary film maker Dáša Raimanová said there were moments she thought she’d never see her daughter again.

Ilaria Mancosu, an Italian activist, told Al-Jazeera that flotilla members were locked in a container and beaten by five soldiers, suffering fractures to the ribs and arms. Some had serious injuries to their eyes and ears caused by tasers. He said they ⁠spent two days on the prison ships with no running water and had to use cardboard and plastic to keep warm at night since they had no blankets ⁠and were stripped of most of their clothes. Once on land, they were made to kneel for several hours and kicked if they moved or spoke.

At Istanbul airport, British activist Richard Johan Anderson told reporters: “We’ve been beaten, tortured, systematically dehumanised, and… we have just had a little taste of what the Palestinians go through every day.”

Other returnees faced further unprovoked violence once out of Israeli custody. At Bilbao airport, activists who had just survived days of systematic abduction, torture and severe psychological and physical violence at the hands of Israeli forces, were met with targeted police brutality upon stepping onto their home soil. At least four people, including three flotilla participants, were subsequently arrested by Spanish state paramilitary police.

Ukrainian dimension

Ukrainian activist Andrii Movchan, whose participation on the flotilla Labour Hub highlighted last month, is also out of Israeli custody. In a social media post, he said the participation of Ukrainians in the convoy had challenged people’s prejudices, particularly Russian propaganda that declares Ukrainians to be  “fascists” and “Zionist puppets”.

“Among Ukrainians, there were many who sympathized with Palestine but could not find like-minded people, stayed silent, hesitated. We became the voice of these people,” he said. “Our mission was not only about Palestine. It was about all of us. It was about making this world a slightly more just place.”

Demands

The Global Sumud Flotilla is calling on governments, international institutions, and legal bodies to act. It is calling for:

1. A full, independent international investigation into the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla and the treatment of all detained participants.

2. The immediate, unconditional release of all Palestinian political prisoners and hostages held without charge under administrative detention, including those who endure daily what our participants endured for just days.

3. Immediate and unrestricted access for the International Committee of the Red Cross to Palestinian hostages and prisoners.

4. Sanctions against Israel commensurate with documented violations of international law.

5. An immediate end to the blockade of Gaza, which the International Court of Justice and independent legal experts have repeatedly characterised as collective punishment in violation of international humanitarian law.

6. The referral by all relevant states of Israeli officials responsible for ordering, conducting, and facilitating the interception of the flotilla to the International Criminal Court and all applicable international accountability mechanisms.

Meanwhile, the Global Sumud Land Convoy, carrying seven ambulances, ten aid trucks, and over 200 participants, including experts in medicine, engineering, logistics, and humanitarian law, is advancing through North Africa towards Sirte.

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demonstra%C3%A7%C3%A3o_de_suporte_ao_Flotilha_Global_Sumud_na_Universidade_Estadual_de_Campinas_%28Unicamp%29_em_03-10-2025.2.jpg Author: Mtvdanilo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.