JERUSALEM, May 21: Israel said on Thursday it had deported all the foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, following global outcry over their treatment in custody.
More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and diplomatic backlash on Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.
Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said on Thursday that "all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel."
"Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza," he added.
Reuters adds, western governments voiced outrage on Thursday after Israel's far-right security minister posted a video of himself taunting Gaza-bound flotilla activists being pinned to the ground, with two later alleging they were physically assaulted in detention.
The activists' treatment by police officers under the direction of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also drew a rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from the United States, Israel's staunchest ally.
The activists, whose vessel was intercepted on Wednesday in international waters by Israeli naval forces as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were all deported from Israel on Thursday, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Across Europe, governments summoned Israeli ambassadors to condemn the video. Italy demanded an apology, Spain said it would not tolerate maltreatment of its citizens, and France demanded the release of all the detainees.
Britain's foreign ministry said the video "violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people", while Poland's foreign minister called for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country.
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Ben-Gvir had "betrayed (the) dignity of his nation".
The outpouring of anger follows the posting of campaign-style videos by Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu's government, transport chief Miri Regev, showing them visiting the port and lambasting the protesters, attention-grabbing antics ahead of a potential early election in Israel.
Thameen al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the activists' arrest at sea appeared to be unlawful, and that any maltreatment should be investigated and those found responsible held to account.
"It is not a crime to show solidarity and bring humanitarian assistance to the people who are in dire need of it in Gaza," he told Reuters.
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, one of several activists separated from the others and flown home earlier, said he had been beaten up on arrival in Israeli detention in what he described as a container, calling it as a "place of terror".
"'Beat you up' means they kicked me in the legs and punched me in the face. These are people who know what they are doing, so I don't have any major visible marks ... They would beat you up and would tell you 'Welcome to Israel'," he told reporters on arrival at Rome's Fiumicino airport.
Another Italian activist, Dario Carotenuto, a lawmaker from the 5-Star Movement, said he had been punched in the eye and kicked while detained.
Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the activists' allegations. Activists who were part of previous flotillas intercepted by Israel also said they faced abuse by Israeli forces, something Israel rejected.
Flotilla organisers say they aimed to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid, which charities say is still in short supply despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased assistance. "AFP, REUTERS
