Two aid activists languish in Israeli custody after flotilla interception

A Spanish activist and a Brazilian aid worker remain imprisoned in Israel following their capture during an attempted Gaza solidarity mission in early May. Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila were among 175 campaigners intercepted by Israeli forces off Crete while participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a multi-vessel operation launched from France, Spain, and Italy on April 12. They remain the only participants still detained.

Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish Palestinian organizer based in Barcelona, has spent more than two decades coordinating Palestinian solidarity efforts across Europe. He chairs the Global Coalition Against the Occupation in Palestine and holds positions with several international labor and rights networks. The 38-year-old Avila hails from Brazil and has devoted over 20 years to Palestine activism, serving as a steering committee member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Both men have young families - Abukeshek has three children; Avila has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Both activists are on hunger strike, though continuing to consume water. They’ve been transferred to separate facilities: Abukeshek to Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, and Avila initially to solitary confinement at Ayalon Prison. The Adalah legal center, which visited them on Saturday, documented accounts of violence. Abukeshek reported being bound, blindfolded, and kept face-down on the floor from his seizure through the following morning, sustaining facial and hand bruising. Avila allegedly endured more severe treatment, being dragged across floors and beaten to the point of losing consciousness twice.

The flotilla’s stated objective was breaking Israel’s Gaza blockade - in place since 2005 and substantially tightened after October 2023 - to deliver aid to the territory’s 2.3 million residents. An Israeli court approved a two-day detention extension on Sunday, falling short of the four days authorities had requested.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez publicly pressed Benjamin Netanyahu on the matter, pledging Spain would defend its citizens and international law. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry characterized the interception as piracy. Rights organizations and governments have condemned the action, calling the military transfer of civilians from international waters without due process a breach of international law. The Global Sumud Flotilla has issued calls for their immediate release.