Activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla comfort each other upon their arrival at Istanbul Airport, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Sat 17 October 2026:
Italian authorities have expanded an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of activists from Gaza-bound solidarity flotillas, placing Defence Minister Israel Katz and 12 high-ranking military, police, and prison officials under scrutiny. The probe, previously focused mainly on far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, now covers a broader group of senior Israeli figures.
Rome prosecutors stated on Friday that the inquiry concerns suspected offenses including torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery, and property damage linked to Israeli interceptions of small activist boat fleets heading toward Gaza in 2025 and 2026.
It opened the investigation after complaints from 50 Italian citizens who were detained following two Global Sumud Flotilla missions last year and this year.
Those named as suspects include Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir.
Prosecutors said activists detained after the first mission in 2025 reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism. Those on the second mission in 2026 reported harsher treatment, including beatings in the dark and the use of tasers and rubber bullets, the statement said.
The activists reported at least 15 cases of sexual assault, including rape.
Luca Poggi, an Italian economist who was detained, told Reuters news agency in May: “We were stripped, thrown to the ground, kicked.”
Ben-Gvir dismissed news of the investigation in June, saying he would “continue to stand proudly alongside” Israeli soldiers.
Flotilla organisers say they aim to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid.
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What prompted the case
The first Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona in September 2025 with 42 boats and 462 activists. Israeli forces intercepted it in international waters in early October that year, with hundreds detained and later deported.
The second mission left Barcelona in April 2026. Israeli forces began intercepting its vessels near the southern Greek island of Crete on April 30, and by May 19 had detained about 430 people on some 50 ships in international waters, with the final interceptions taking place off Cyprus.
Ben-Gvir later posted a video showing him taunting activists who were cable-tied and kneeling at a makeshift prison at the port of Ashdod while Israel’s national anthem played.
People stage a protest in Rome on April 30, 2026, after activists attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza say Israeli forces have intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla near the southern Greek island of Crete [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]
Prosecutors said they sent Israel a request for judicial assistance in June, seeking information to reconstruct events and establish individual responsibility, but did not say whether Israel had responded.
They also held talks at Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency, as other similar investigations are under way in other European countries.
Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be prosecuted in Rome.
If the investigation finds the charges warranted, prosecutors could formally request a trial.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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