TEL AVIV — Israel deported two activists Sunday who had been detained more than a week for leading an aid flotilla attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Ávila were among dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete. Both are members of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s steering committee, whose mission is to break Israel’s naval blockade and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry in a post on X on Sunday called the two activists “professional provocateurs,” saying that ”Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
At the time of the arrest, Israeli authorities said that the two had been detained for questioning, and that Abukeshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and Ávila was “suspected of illegal activity,” without providing evidence. No formal charges have been publicized against the two, the last activists who were held in Israel.
Spain and Brazil, in a joint statement at the time of the detentions, condemned “the kidnapping of two of [their] citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel.” The detentions sparked solidarity protests in several countries.
After arriving in Athens, Abukeshek said he would continue protesting Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
“We have to continue mobilizing. We can’t forget the Palestinian prisoners,” he said in a video comment posted on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s X account.
In all, 22 boats and 175 activists were intercepted by the Israeli navy. Activists said Israeli forces stormed their vessels, smashed engines and detained some of those aboard. The incident occurred overnight Wednesday into Thursday hundreds of miles from Gaza and Israel.
Israeli officials said they needed to take early action against the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved.
The flotilla’s latest attempt to reach Gaza comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group. That attempt involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several lawmakers.
Israel arrested, detained and deported the participants, including Ávila, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.
Israeli strike kills two in Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, an Israeli strike hit a vehicle, killing at least two people, including a Hamas police officer, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties.
The vehicle was struck late Sunday morning in Al-Amal neighborhood in the southern city of Khan Yunis, said the Civil Defense, a first responders’ agency operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
The two killed included Col. Wessam Abdel-Hadi, who heads the police investigation department in Khan Yunis, the hospital said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the strike.
The fatalities were the latest among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since an October ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the shaky truce has been interrupted by almost daily Israeli fire.
Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing at least 850 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
Israel’s military said Sunday it destroyed two tunnels in Israeli-controlled areas in central Gaza and that troops found several hideouts and weapons in the tunnels. It shared video of what it said were the hideouts. The video couldn’t be independently verified.
Lidman and Magdy write for the Associated Press and reported from Tel Aviv and Cairo, respectively. AP writer Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
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