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Israel Detains Gaza Flotilla Volunteers Two More Days
(MENAFN) An Israeli court on Saturday extended the custody of two humanitarian volunteers — Thiago de Avila and Saif Abukeshek — by two days, as their lawyers warned the proceedings were legally indefensible and the activists escalated their protest through a hunger strike.
The pair, both members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, were detained following a Thursday assault on the aid convoy near the Greek island — some 600 nautical miles short of its destination: the blockade-strangled Gaza Strip. Israeli prosecutors had pushed for a four-day extension on security-related grounds, but the court granted only half that, according to Adalah, an Israeli advocacy organization representing Palestinians inside Israel.
Their legal team did not hold back. Attorneys argued that "the entire legal process is fundamentally flawed and illegal," Adalah said in a statement. As of Saturday, neither activist has been formally charged — both remain in interrogation at the pre-indictment stage, with no timeline for resolution in sight.
Adalah confirmed the pair's next destination: "Both Mr. de Avila and Mr. Abukeshek will be transferred back to the Shikma detention facility in Israel (Ashkelon), where they remain in isolation."
The two volunteers are currently on hunger strike, citing unlawful detention and mistreatment since their capture.
The Global Sumud Flotilla departed Barcelona on April 12, with its lead vessels carrying humanitarian supplies. The main convoy weighed anchor from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26 — a deliberate attempt to pierce Israel's decades-long naval blockade of Gaza, in place since 2007. That blockade has reduced the territory's 2.4 million residents to the edge of famine, aid organizations warn.
The broader humanitarian backdrop is staggering. Since launching its military offensive in October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, wounded over 172,000 more, and left vast stretches of the enclave in ruins — a toll that has drawn mounting international condemnation and fueled the very flotilla mission now at the center of a growing legal standoff.
The pair, both members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, were detained following a Thursday assault on the aid convoy near the Greek island — some 600 nautical miles short of its destination: the blockade-strangled Gaza Strip. Israeli prosecutors had pushed for a four-day extension on security-related grounds, but the court granted only half that, according to Adalah, an Israeli advocacy organization representing Palestinians inside Israel.
Their legal team did not hold back. Attorneys argued that "the entire legal process is fundamentally flawed and illegal," Adalah said in a statement. As of Saturday, neither activist has been formally charged — both remain in interrogation at the pre-indictment stage, with no timeline for resolution in sight.
Adalah confirmed the pair's next destination: "Both Mr. de Avila and Mr. Abukeshek will be transferred back to the Shikma detention facility in Israel (Ashkelon), where they remain in isolation."
The two volunteers are currently on hunger strike, citing unlawful detention and mistreatment since their capture.
The Global Sumud Flotilla departed Barcelona on April 12, with its lead vessels carrying humanitarian supplies. The main convoy weighed anchor from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26 — a deliberate attempt to pierce Israel's decades-long naval blockade of Gaza, in place since 2007. That blockade has reduced the territory's 2.4 million residents to the edge of famine, aid organizations warn.
The broader humanitarian backdrop is staggering. Since launching its military offensive in October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, wounded over 172,000 more, and left vast stretches of the enclave in ruins — a toll that has drawn mounting international condemnation and fueled the very flotilla mission now at the center of a growing legal standoff.
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