Gaza-bound flotilla demands Israel to release remaining 2 activists

The Global Sumud Flotilla on Friday called on governments to pressure Israel to release detainees from its Gaza-bound mission, saying two activists remain in custody.

In a statement, the group said most participants who had been detained were released in Crete, but two individuals — identified as Thiago and Saif — are still being held.

“We demand that all governments do all they can to pressure the Israeli regime to release all the illegal abductees,” the flotilla said.

On Thursday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said 175 activists had been detained after more than 20 vessels were seized in international waters while en route to the Gaza Strip.

The flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, aims to break Israel’s blockade and open a humanitarian corridor by sea.

The mission marks the second initiative by the Global Sumud Flotilla, following a previous attempt in September 2025 that ended with an Israeli interception in international waters and the detention of hundreds of international activists.

In October 2023, Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at around $70 billion.

Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving about 1.5 million Palestinians out of roughly 2.4 million homeless after their homes were destroyed during the war.