The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) said Tuesday it received confirmation that Israel will forcibly transfer hundreds of civilian participants detained during its raid to a port in “occupied Palestine.”
A coordinator on the ground for GSF’s Canadian delegation, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told Al Manassa that the detained activists were being transported to Ashdod. CBC reported that about a dozen Canadians were on board the vessels.
Meanwhile, GSF coordinator Subhi Awad told Australian outlet Green Left that the French and Greek governments had informed organizers the detainees are being sent straight to Ashdod prison in Israel and not dropped off in Crete, as 179 activists were after the April 30 interception off Greece.
“We fear for their safety,” Awad said. “Like the flotilla participants Israel kidnapped before, they will face beatings, sexual abuse, and food, water, and medicine deprivation.”
Israel’s intervention against the GSF began Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a security cabinet meeting to authorize the seizure and continued Tuesday as the flotilla's live tracker showed 62 boats boarded in international waters off Cyprus.
According to the GSF, ten boats had managed to escape 22 hours of Israeli attacks and remained steadfast in international waters, still headed toward Gaza, just 121 nautical miles from shore, the group said on X Tuesday morning.
GSF in Turkey also posted on X, “We have a message from the Kasr-ı Sadabad Ship, which continues on its way despite all the attacks! We are still sailing to Gaza!”
However, the current status of the vessels remains unclear, as four additional boats appeared to be boarded by Israeli forces on the live tracker until the time of publication.
On Monday, detained activists were transferred to a navy ship described as a “floating jail,” Ynet reported, as the whereabouts of nearly 300 to 400 activists from dozens of countries remained unknown to the GSF.
“It is very obvious that Israel was scouting European nationals first and then Turkish nationals and boats after. Plan leaks show that they want to mistreat Turkish participants or harm them,” the Canadian delegation source told Al Manassa.
GSF has documented the interception in sound and video. In a press release sent by email later on Monday night, it described “an overwhelming array of grey Israeli warships, heavily armed corvettes, and high-speed military boats (RIBs).”
Ten nations on Tuesday condemned the detention of activists, with their foreign ministers calling for their immediate release. Jordan, Indonesia, Spain, Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Turkey, Colombia, Libya, and the Maldives urged the international community, in a joint statement, to “take concrete steps to end impunity and ensure accountability for these violations.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the Israeli attack on Monday, labeling it as an act of “piracy” and “banditry,” adding that his government was undertaking necessary measures to guarantee the safe return of Turkish activists aboard the fleet.
The spring 2026 mission departed the Turkish port of Marmaris on 14 May with 54 vessels in a defying regrouping following Israel’s first intervention in April, during which activists were severely beaten and terrorized according to documented footage, as well as the temporary detention and abuse of two of its leaders in Ashkelon prison.
