NAZARETH, (PIC)
Shocking facts were revealed by identical testimonies given by participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla, about violations by the Israeli forces against them, including sexual assaults that released Palestinian detainees have long talked about, and the world met with ignorance.
European activists documented detailed accounts of serious violations they were subjected to after being detained by the Israeli forces after intercepting their boats in international waters while heading to the Gaza Strip last week.
Documentation of sexual assaults and international legal movements
The testimonies, which were broadcast through media interviews, painted a complete picture of detention conditions described as harsh and humiliating, which included multiple patterns of physical, sexual, and psychological violence, and extended for several days.
In parallel with these testimonies, the organizers of the flotilla announced the documentation of at least 15 cases of sexual assault, including cases of rape, which occurred against detainees on board the detention ships. They confirmed that a number of victims were transferred to hospitals following their release to receive treatment for varying injuries.
Flotilla activist Maryam Hadjall spoke about being sexually assaulted by Israeli forces, confirming that the soldiers stripped her and continued to touch her breast while beating her repeatedly on her head. Flotilla activist Meriem Hadjal described being sexually assaulted by Israeli forces. She said they stripped her of her clothes and continued groping her chest while striking her repeatedly in the head. pic.twitter.com/ae5CzcHThL — Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 23, 2026 Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, confirmed the documentation of 12 statements from flotilla activists confirming exposure to forms of violence and sexual assaults by the Israeli forces.
The Arab legal Adalah Center in Israel confirmed that its defense team provided legal advice to hundreds of detainees from the participants in the flotilla (who were released later), amid testimonies of severe violence, sexual humiliation, and serious injuries they suffered at the hands of the Israeli forces.
The legal center explained that its legal team received a large number of testimonies about the use of severe violence, which reveals a new pattern of deliberate physical attacks practiced by the Israeli authorities against male and female participants.
Harsh detention conditions inside military ships
French activist Sabrina Azizi recounted the details of what she suffered in a floating prison, noting that the Israeli forces initiated violent treatment from the first moments of transferring the activists to military vessels.
The Israeli forces forced the detainees to sit on the ground in harsh positions, and they were subjected to beating and humiliation, before confiscating their personal documents and transferring them to closed metal containers used as temporary detention centers.
She confirmed that about 185 detainees were subjected to varying forms of torture, while she pointed out that she was subjected to an unknown injection in the neck without medical or legal explanation.
The testimonies of the participating doctors reinforced these accounts, as they documented multiple injuries among the detainees, including fractures, wounds, and head injuries, in addition to cases of electric shocks.
They also pointed to the registration of attacks of a sexual nature that affected a number of participants, in the context of detention characterized by overcrowding and deprivation of sleep, food, and water, with deliberate generation of noise and directing strong lighting inside the detention places to prevent sleep. “People got raped” and “at least 15 cases of sexual assaults”: activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla recount testimonies of abuse by Israeli forces after attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to #Gaza . @EuroMedHR pic.twitter.com/UQkNRnRGqa — Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) May 22, 2026 Continuous torture during transfer and detention
The violations extended, according to the testimonies, to later stages of detention, especially during the transfer of activists to Ashdod port.
Azizi described the disembarkation process as violent, as she was subjected to dragging while tied with plastic ties, amid the screams and crying of other detainees, including women, one of whom lost consciousness.
She confirmed that the experience prompted her to re-evaluate the suffering of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons, considering what the activists were subjected to as a limited part of a broader reality.
Activist Fawzi Al-Shehhi provided a cross-cutting account, explaining that the detainees were transferred to other ships he described as “ships of shame”, where physical and psychological torture continued.
He pointed to long periods of almost complete deprivation of food and water, confirming that he remained for more than 50 hours without drinking water, and was forced to stand all night because of overcrowding and fear of being exposed to rubber bullets or sound bombs in open yards.
He also talked about forcing the detainees to kneel for hours under the sun, and mentioned the traces of dog bites on the bodies of some participants.
He added that subsequent transfers took place inside closed trucks with the heating turned on to high degrees despite the state of exhaustion and thirst, which led some detainees to believe that they were facing the risk of death.
The organizers pointed out that the Israeli forces intercepted about 50 boats in international waters, and detained approximately 430 activists and volunteers who were on a humanitarian mission aimed at delivering aid to the Gaza Strip.
Talking about torture, including sexual torture and rape within it, is not new to Israel, as dozens of Palestinian detainees, including women, have talked about being subjected to dangerous forms of it during their arrest in the past two years.
European reactions and demands for investigation
On the international level, Germany described these allegations as serious, demanding comprehensive clarifications, especially after the return of a number of activists to Europe while they are suffering from injuries and undergoing medical examinations. In Italy, the public prosecution in Rome opened an investigation into potential crimes including kidnapping, torture, and sexual assaults, with preparations to hear the testimonies of a number of victims during the coming days.
These developments put Israel under increasing legal and political pressure, in light of international demands to open independent and transparent investigations, and to ensure accountability for the documented violations, in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law and human rights standards.