May 4, 2026
The Gaza Flotilla was attacked on Thursday the 28th in international waters, about 600 nautical miles from its destination, by Israeli military forces. Twenty-two ships were boarded, and 175 activists were taken to an Israeli military vessel and held until they were transported to the island of Crete.
Several reported mistreatment and abuse, including beatings and injuries, following their detention by Israeli military personnel. Ávila and Abukeshek were separated from the rest of the activists, through the use of force by the military.
According to Adalah, an Israeli group defending Palestinians within Israel, the lawyers for the two activists assert that “the entire legal process is fundamentally flawed and illegal” and no charges have been filed. Nevertheless, they have been transferred once again to the Shikma detention center (Ashkelon), “where they will remain in isolation.”
Adalah denounced mistreatment of its clients by Israeli authorities, specifying that Ávila was “beaten” and “dragged across the floor” while blindfolded and held incommunicado following his arrest.
According to the complaint, Abukeshek was held since his arrest on Thursday with “his hands tied and eyes blindfolded,” forced to remain in stress positions, which reportedly caused “bruises on his face and hands.”
Neither had access to legal representation during the interrogations, which exacerbates the lack of due process and confirms the illegality of the proceedings, the organization said.
The group reported that both remain on hunger strike in protest of their illegal detention and the mistreatment suffered by them and other members of the Flotilla, which was attempting for the second time to break the illegal blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to its population.
Human rights organizations, legal experts, and governments such as Spain’s have characterized the Israeli authorities’ action as a “kidnapping” carried out in international waters.
The governments of Spain and Brazil have demanded that Israel immediately release Abukeshek and De Ávila.
Abukeshek, the Flotilla’s coordinator, told Middle East Eye in September 2025 of his commitment to nonviolence, responding to reports of possible terrorist designations against activists on the mission.
Ávila, also a coordinator of the Flotilla, has participated in previous humanitarian missions to Gaza and, more recently, in the international solidarity convoy Nuestra América, which arrived in Cuba last March.
From the official social media account of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), the immediate release of the two activists is demanded, and civil society is urged to “keep up the pressure” to achieve it.
Global Sumud Flotilla urged authorities in Madrid and Brasília on Sunday to “act immediately” to protect the two activists who have been kidnapped and isolated in an Israeli prison.
In a statement, the group said that “the participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla acted because the world has failed to stop the destruction of Palestinian life.
Governments now face a clear dilemma: to respect international law or to remain complicit in its destruction.
GSF called on governments worldwide to launch “independent public investigations” into the arrest of these two activists in international waters and to impose “significant sanctions” on Israel for its “ongoing violations of international law.”
After reaffirming that Israel must be held accountable for its actions against the Flotilla and for the “ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank,” GSF stated that “today’s ruling reflects a broader pattern in which Israeli occupation courts legitimize illegal detention and state violence in cases involving Palestinians and their allies.”
The Flotilla announced that it will intensify its civil resistance actions with sit-ins beginning this Monday in Brussels and spreading to other European cities.
Repression of the flotilla repeats Israel’s pattern of violence and impunity
The Israeli military launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza beginning in October 2023, killing more than 72,600 people, wounding more than 172,400, and causing massive destruction (nearly 90%) throughout the besieged territory, including hospitals, basic service infrastructure, and homes.
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans remain displaced and living as refugees in precarious conditions since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement more than 2,400 times, fired on civilians 840 times, raided residential areas beyond the “yellow line” about a hundred times, bombed Gaza more than a thousand times, and demolished people’s property on at least 280 occasions.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano