E-Paper
‘Treated like animals, on knees, facing down’: Deported Gaza flotilla activists' shocking accounts of Israel action
Paolo Romano, an Italian regional councillor said they were targeted with both physical and psychological abuse.
Dozens of international activists deported from Israel arrived in Istanbul on Saturday with harrowing accounts of mistreatment and violence after their Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
"We were treated like animals," said Paolo Romano, an Italian regional councillor, as he stepped off the plane in Istanbul. They put us on our knees, facing down. And if we moved, they hit us. They were laughing at us, insulting us and hitting us," he told AFP.
The activists, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a mission aiming to deliver aid to war-ravaged Gaza, described their ordeal, saying that they were handcuffed, beaten, denied water and medicine, and held in prison under brutal conditions.
Also Read | Amid all the peace claims, here's what people of Gaza think: From the ground
Some say they were targeted with both physical and psychological abuse.
Romano said they tried to force them to admit they had entered Israel illegally. "But we never entered Israel illegally. We were in international waters, and it was our right to be there."
On landing, they were taken to a prison and held there without being allowed out and were not given bottled water, he said.
"They were opening the door during the night and shouting at us with guns to scare us," he said..
'Worst experience': Activists on Flotilla flight
Malaysian activist Iylia Balqis, 28, described the interception as the "worst experience" she's ever endured.
"We were handcuffed (with hands behind our backs), we couldn't walk, some of us were made to lie face down on the ground, and then we were denied water, and some of us were denied medicine," she said.
Also Read | ‘Move quickly, or else…’: Trump's warning to Hamas as his son-in-law on way to get Gaza plan going
Italian journalist Lorenzo D'Agostino, who was on board the flotilla to cover its mission, said they "were kidnapped in international waters when we were 55 miles (88 kilometres) from Gaza".
"It was two hellish days that we spent in prison. We are out now thanks to the pressure of the international public that supports Palestine," he said. "I really hope this situation ends soon because it has been barbaric the way we have been treated."
Also Read | Donald Trump sends Kushner, Witkoff to Egypt to help broker Gaza peace deal
Libyan activist Malik Qutait said he was not afraid and vowed to keep trying to reach Gaza. "I will collect my group, arrange medicine, aid and a ship, and I will try again," he said.
The activists were flown to Istanbul on a specially chartered Turkish Airlines plane.
Greta Thunberg tortured, forced to kiss Israeli flag: Activists
Some 137 activists, including Greta Thunberg, were detained and mistreated by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza.
Thunberg was reportedly shoved and made to wear an Israeli flag.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi recalled. Beaver added that Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda.” The activist described how Thunberg was pushed into a room when Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, arrived.
Turkish journalist Ersin Celik also corroborated this, saying Israeli forces 'tortured' Greta Thunberg and that she was 'dragged on the ground' and ‘forced to kiss the Israeli flag.'
The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, Turkish foreign ministry sources said.
