Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers said on Friday, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.
Adrien Jouan, an activist from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who was detained by Israeli forces after their vessels were intercepted in international waters in the Mediterranean, gestures as he shows his bruises and injuries following his arrival at the airport in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 21, 2026. Screen grab from video/Reuters
Israel’s prison service denied the allegations, and Reuters was not able to verify them independently.
“The allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis,” a prison service spokesperson said in a statement.