Gaza flotilla activists set for deportation from Israel as backlash over treatment grows

Activists have begun to leave Israel after international outrage over their treatment in detention. Gaza flotilla activists set for deportation from Israel as backlash over treatmentgrows Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Ben Gvir posted a video of himself taunting the detained activists Itamar Ben Givr standing holding an Israeli flag with several people standing around him in dark classes and masks Gaza flotilla activists set for deportation from Israel as backlash over treatment grows Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who were detained in Israel after their flotilla bringing symbolic aid to Gaza was intercepted are set to be deported from the country. It follows international backlash in response to a video posted by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing himself taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs. On Thursday, the UK confirmed it had summoned Israel's top diplomat in Britain, charge d'affaires Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, over the incident. In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said the move reflected the UK's "strong condemnation of [Ben Gvir's] conduct in taunting those involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla". "We are also deeply concerned by the detention conditions depicted and have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities. We made clear their obligations to protect the rights of all those involved," the statement said. There has also been condemnation from the US, France, Italy and Canada, and Ireland. On Thursday, Italian politician Dario Carotenuto and journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who were part of the flotilla, were pictured arriving at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, after first being flown to Athens. Speaking to reporters, Carotenuto said they had been beaten after arriving in Israel. Adalah, an Israel-based rights group representing the detainees, earlier said there had been "severe, widespread injuries", with at least three people taken to hospital for treatment. Dario Carotenuto said detainees had been beaten after arriving in Israel Italian lawmaker Dario Carotenuto is embraced by a relative Israeli authorities have not commented on the allegations. 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. Spain's foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart from Israel at 15:00 local time (12:00 BST). Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee, said 15 Irish citizens who had been detained were expected to be flown to Turkey. More than 50 boats taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) set sail from Turkey last Thursday carrying a token amount of aid. Four hundred and thirty people from more than 40 countries were on board. Israel dismissed the action as a "PR stunt at the service of Hamas". On Monday morning, armed Israeli naval commandos began intercepting the fleet in international waters west of Cyprus, about 250 nautical miles (460km) from the coast of Gaza, which is under an Israeli maritime blockade. Clare Azzougarh told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme her father Malcolm Ducker, who is in his early 70s, was one of the British citizens detained and she had no information on what was happening. "We know they've been taken to Ketziot prison but otherwise we're completely in the dark." Azzougarh added her father, who is a retired RAF pilot, was on a flotilla which was intercepted in October but this year's arrests were "indeed an escalation of extreme violence". The British government's response "needs to be more than words" as they "ring rather hollow". "We need actions, we need to know what representations they've made to the Israeli foreign ministry. We need to know what actions they're doing to get our loved ones out." Israeli National Security Minister gestures in front of an Israeli flag while touring a facility in the Israeli port of Ashdod where pro-Palestinian activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla are being detained (20 May 2026) Far-right Israeli minister condemned for taunting handcuffed Gaza flotilla activists France and Italy are among the countries that have criticised a video showing Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting dozens of activists detained at an Israeli port. BBC Verify has examined dozens of videos of fibre-optic drone attacks carried out by the Lebanese armed group. Twelve people were killed in a single strike on a house, including three children and three women, Lebanon's state-run news agency says. In a video on social media, Israel's national security minister is shown taunting detainees. The Global Sumud Flotilla says commandos have intercepted more than 50 boats trying to breach the Gaza maritime blockade since Monday. Dr Margaret Connolly is among 12 Irish citizens on board the aid flotilla which was boarded by Israeli forces. Friday's strike is the latest launched by Israel on Gaza despite a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel's prime minister says he has ordered legal action over an article which alleged Israeli security officials raped Palestinian detainees.