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View all search resultsIsrael deports two activists detained over Gaza-bound flotilla
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Boats of a new humanitarian flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip make a symbolic leave from Barcelona's Port Vell on April 12, 2026. (AFP/Josep Lago)
I
srael deported two activists, Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila, on Sunday after arresting them aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, the foreign ministry said.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
They were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
Israel's foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity; both denied the allegations, saying they were on a humanitarian mission for Gaza's civilian population and that their arrest in international waters was unlawful.
Gaza is largely run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist group by Israel and much of the West.
The group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel started the Gaza war that has left much of the enclave's population homeless and dependent on aid, which humanitarian agencies say is arriving too slowly.
The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek's and Avila's detention was unlawful, but Israel's Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court had remanded them in custody until Sunday.
Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities' custody until their deportation.
