Italy’s government condemned Israel’s treatment of Gaza flotilla activists as “unacceptable” and said it would summon the Israeli ambassador for an explanation. The move came after a video emerged showing Israeli soldiers and minister Ben-Gvir taunting and abusing the activists abducted aboard the vessels while they knelt on the floor with their hands tied.
Italy’s government condemned Israel’s treatment of Gaza flotilla activists as “unacceptable” and said it would summon the Israeli ambassador for an explanation. The move came after a video emerged showing Israeli soldiers and minister Ben-Gvir taunting and abusing the activists abducted aboard the vessels while they knelt on the floor with their hands tied.
A strongly worded statement by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy “demands an apology for the treatment” of the activists and the “total disrespect” for the Italian government’s requests.
“The images of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir are unacceptable. It is unacceptable that these protesters, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates their human dignity,” the statement reads.
Watch | At Ashdod Airport in occupied Palestine, hard-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir oversees the brutal treatment and torture of the Global Sumud Flotilla's activists who were abducted by the Israeli navy from international waters and forcibly taken… pic.twitter.com/p8BCmQEu4t
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 20, 2026
Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir toured the Port of Ashdod, where activists from the Gaza flotilla are being detained. In footage released by the minister, he is seen walking among the captured activists, who are bound and blindfolded on the floor, shouting:
Welcome to Israel, we are the hosts here.
In additional footage, a female activist is seen approaching the minister and being restrained to the floor by Shin Bet agents.
He is also seen telling one of the activists “Am Yisrael Chai” (The People of Israel Live), with “Hatikvah” playing in the background. He added:
They came with so much pride, look how they look now. Not heroes, not anything, terror supporters. I call on Netanyahu—give them to me for a very long time in the terrorists’ prisons.
ככה אנחנו מקבלים את תומכי הטרור
Welcome to Israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/7Hf8cAg7fC
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 20, 2026
Israeli forces seized more than 50 vessels from the Gaza-bound flotilla on Monday in international waters off Cyprus, abducting at least 430 activists on board and transferring them to a navy ship described as a “floating prison” and then to the Ashdod port to be deported.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the international movement heading the mission, said Israeli military personnel boarded several boats off Cyprus on Monday, as the convoy tried to reach the besieged Gaza Strip.
“Global Sumud Flotilla is under attack!” the group wrote on social media.
The Israeli occupation has again illegally and violently intercepted our international fleet of humanitarian vessels and abducted our volunteers.
It expressed outrage at “the normalisation of these violations of international maritime law and the kidnapping of peaceful civilians in international waters”, demanding the swift release of the activists and the blockade of Gaza ended.
Video shared by the organizers showed activists filming as Israeli forces approached and boarded the boats.
Organizers said the boats were intercepted 250 nautical miles (463 kilometres) from the shores of Gaza. Unlike previous interceptions, mostly under the cover of night, the Israeli military boarded the boats in daylight.
The organizers said on Tuesday morning that Israeli naval forces have intercepted and boarded at least 56 vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and 4 boats from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) in international waters, beginning around 10:30 a.m. Türkiye time Monday
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Israeli warships deployed Zodiac boats carrying armed commandos who spent at least nine hours boarding ships one by one.
By 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, GSF trackers showed Israeli forces had unlawfully detained at least 319 GSF activists, and forcibly boarded 60 vessels linked to the Global Sumud Flotilla, Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association.
ICC-wanted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly watched the attack on the flotilla from military headquarters in Tel Aviv, commending soldiers for “thwarting a malicious plan designed to break the isolation we are imposing on Hamas terrorists in Gaza,” according to the Associated Press.
RED ALERT!
Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and IOF forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight.
We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission. Governments must act now to stop these illegal acts or piracy meant to… pic.twitter.com/4RmPuswZNo
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) May 18, 2026
The CPJ has called on international governments to demand the immediate release and protection of all civilians detained by Israel, including at least 7 journalists. “Detaining journalists for documenting a humanitarian mission is a grave violation of press freedom and international law,” it said.
CPJ calls on international governments to demand the immediate release and protection of all civilians detained after #Israeli forces attacked and intercepted #the_Global_Sumud_Flotilla in international waters, including at least 7 #journalists on board. Detaining journalists for… pic.twitter.com/OpcQ33Jgrj
— CPJ MENA (@CPJMENA) May 18, 2026
Italy, Indonesia and Spain have pressed the Israeli occupation government to release the detained activists. On Monday, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said he had summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Madrid over “a new violation of international law barely 15 days after the previous interception”.
Ireland’s president, Catherine Connolly, has also expressed concern for her sister, Margaret, who was also part of the flotilla and reportedly detained.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has condemned the interception by Israel with at least 10 Irish citizens on board and called for the immediate release of those detained.
“I strongly condemn the interception of boats in the Sumud flotilla in international waters and the detention of those on board by Israeli military forces, and call for their immediate release,” the Taoiseach said in a statement.
Israel has maintained a naval blockade on Gaza since 2007. Rights groups and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly criticized the blockade, describing it as collective punishment imposed on Gaza’s population.
The restrictions have tightened over time, particularly following the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza. Numerous attempts have been made to break the blockade since then, including in 2010, when Israeli forces boarded the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound ship, in an attack that ended in ten activists getting killed.
Last year, Global Sumud Flotilla’s attempt yo break the siege of Gaza was thwarted when Israeli forces intercepted around 40 vessels and abducted more than 450 participants, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, before deporting those on board.
Israel, which now controls access and occupies more than 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, claims it allows humanitarian aid into the territory.
Palestinians and international aid organizations, however, say Israel continues to restrict and block the entry of much-needed aid to the enclave despite the so-called US-backed ceasefire that included commitments to expand aid flows.
However, Israel has violated the agreement by continuing its deadly attacks, killings, and the blocking of aid.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said recently that living conditions in Gaza remain “catastrophic,” pointing to widespread shortages of food, clean water, electricity and healthcare.
“People’s needs are massive, yet the Israeli authorities have continued to systematically restrict the entry of humanitarian aid,” said Claire San Filippo, MSF’s emergency manager.
Israeli forces have killed more than 870 Palestinians since the ceasefire, including over 300 children, women, and the elderly.
Over 72,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began on October 7, 2023. More than 20,000 children were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in two years of its genocidal war, according to a Save the Children report in September.
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk condemned Israel’s recent violence in the Gaza Strip, saying that “the unrelenting pattern of killings” reflects Israel’s “sweeping impunity”.
“Palestinians are still being killed and injured in what is left of their homes, shelters and tents of displaced families, on the streets, in vehicles, at a medical facility and a classroom,” Turk said.
Several countries have condemned the Israeli attacks on the aid flotilla. The foreign ministers of Turkey, Spain, Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, Libya, and the Maldives released a joint statement, describing Israeli forces’ actions as “blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.
As per the statement, the ministers expressed “serious concern regarding the safety and security of the civilian participants of the flotilla” and called for the “immediate release of all detained activists, as well as for full respect for their rights and dignity”.