5 activists set to be deported on Thursday, Freedom Flotilla Coalition says
Foreign activists detained aboard a Gaza aid ship remain on hunger strike for a 5th day in a row on Thursday to protest their Israeli detention, organizers said.
The Handala ship, carrying baby formula, food, and medicine, was seized by Israeli forces near the Gaza coast on July 26, with 21 unarmed civilians on board, including lawmakers, medics, and volunteers.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement that US national Christian Smalls and Tunisian Hatem Aouini are still under Israeli custody in Givon Prison in Ramla, central Israel.
Five other activists were transferred to the airport early Thursday for immediate deportation, it added. All other activists have been deported to their home countries.
The aid ship set sail from Italy in an attempt to break a months-long Israeli siege, which has left Gaza’s 2.4 million population on the verge of famine.
In recent months, Israel has intercepted multiple Gaza-bound aid ships in international waters.
In June, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan. A month earlier, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of aid convoys and ignoring international calls to reopen them.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 154 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 89 children.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 60,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
