A boat bearing symbols of one of the vessels belonging to the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, intercepted by the Israeli navy, is motored towards the Israeli port of Ashdod, about 40 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, on May 19, 2026.
Image: Jack Guez / AFP
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground.
The footage, published on Ben Gvir's X account and captioned "Welcome to Israel", shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat with the Israeli national anthem blaring, and in detention in Israel, where the minister is seen waving an Israeli flag.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month. It is believed that seven South Africans form part of the crew.
In the video he shared, he is seen encouraging staff at the detention centre as they push down an activist who had stood up to say "free free Palestine" as he walked by.
Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar condemned Ben Gvir after the release of the video.
"You knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display - and not for the first time", Saar said on X, adding Ben Gvir was "not the face of Israel".
"Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people", legal rights centre Adalah said in a statement reacting to the footage.
Adalah's lawyers went to the detention centre in southern Israel to meet the more than 430 detained activists, it said.
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls under half of Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparked the war in the Palestinian territory, also condemned the video.
In a statement, it called Ben Gvir's actions "an expression of the moral depravity and sadism that govern the mentality of the leaders of the criminal enemy entity" (Israel).
On Tuesday, the South African government strongly condemned what it describes as the “illegal abduction” of South African nationals aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led humanitarian mission bound for Gaza that was reportedly intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said it viewed the incident with “grave concern”, warning that South African citizens may now be detained or imprisoned in Israel following the seizure of the vessel.
“The Government of South Africa notes with grave concern reports that following the illegal seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) bound for Gaza, South African nationals have been abducted in international waters and may now be facing detention/imprisonment in Israel,” the department said.
AFP