The Israeli government said that hundreds of flotilla activists who attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza have all been released and deported. Outrage abroad over the activists’ treatment prompted several countries to summon Israeli envoys to hear their concerns.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “all foreign activists” from the flotilla had been deported. They were being flown out of Israel from a civilian airport near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, according to the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah.
The group said one participant, Zohar Regev, who holds Israeli citizenship, was released following a court hearing in the southern city of Ashkelon on charges of illegal entry into Israel and unlawful stay. Mr Regev has taken part in previous flotillas to Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he instructed that the activists be deported “as soon as possible”, after sharply rebuking Israel’s national security minister for a provocative video showing the minister taunting detained flotilla activists who were handcuffed and kneeling.
Mr Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters”, the way national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
Mr Ben-Gvir released videos on Wednesday showing him walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area on the deck of a ship.
Several countries, including France and Portugal, summoned Israeli envoys over concerns about the treatment of flotilla activists and in protest of Mr Ben-Gvir’s actions.
French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: “The actions of Mr Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, condemned even by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable.”
Britain, Turkey, Greece, and Italy also condemned Israel for Mr Ben-Gvir’s comments and the treatment of flotilla activists.
The flotilla, made up of more than 50 boats, departed for Gaza last week from Turkey, near Cyprus. Organisers said they want to draw renewed attention to the conditions for nearly two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas” with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a tiny, symbolic amount of aid.
Israeli forces began stopping the boats around 167 miles from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website. Israel also stopped 20 boats from the flotilla on April 30 near Crete.
This week, the US treasury imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which US treasury secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror”.
I am truly appalled at the video posted by Israeli Cabinet Minister Ben-Gvir taunting those involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
This violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity in the way people should be treated.
We are in touch with the families of a number…
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) May 20, 2026
Last year, Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving about 50 vessels and some 500 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.
Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.
Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on October 7 2023.
Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it is intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the October 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, does not give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.