ANKARA — Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza are being flown to Istanbul, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The individuals include 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, ministry sources added.

The Turkish Airlines flight is expected to land sometime after 3:40 p.m. local time (1240 GMT), the ministry said.

More Than 450 Activists Detained

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled next week – along with activists from other nations.

Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.

“I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights”, Tajani wrote on X.

A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Friday.

“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza”, Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.

“We were brutally stopped … brutally taken hostage”, said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.

Zip-Tied on Their Knees for Hours

Israel’s foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were “safe and in good health”, adding it was keen to complete the deportations “as quickly as possible”.

According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some of them were denied access to lawyers, and denied access to water and medications, as well as the use of toilets.

Activists were also “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted ‘Free Palestine,'” Adalah said.

Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian militant group Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.

Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a “lawful naval blockade”.

—

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara, Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Alvise Armellini in Rome. Additional reporting by Pesha Magid in Jerusalem. Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)