“They came with guns and cameras”: Eyewitness tells of “Handala” ship raid

Israeli sources reported on Monday that the activists aboard the “Handala” ship were interrogated by the regime's security forces. Some of the activists have gone on hunger strike to protest what they called arbitrary detention. The Israeli occupation authorities are expected to release three of them in the coming hours.

The Israeli Channel Kan reported that the “Handala” ship was seized by the Israeli navy on Sunday morning, on the seventh day of its voyage aimed at breaking the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and was transferred to the occupied port of Ashdod.

According to the report, the activists were handed over to Israeli police following their interrogations.

Meanwhile, the legal center Adalah, based in the occupied territories, announced that Israel will begin deporting several of the activists. Those listed for deportation include Antonio Mazzio from Italy, Gabriel Cassala from France, and Jacob Berger from the United States.

The legal center emphasized that 12 activists have refused to sign voluntary deportation documents and are scheduled to be brought before a court as part of legal proceedings.

It was also announced that these 12 activists have been on an open-ended hunger strike since their detention, protesting what they describe as arbitrary and illegal arrest by the Israeli regime. No information has been released about the condition of the remaining activists.

Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American lawyer and activist who was among the passengers and has since been released, told Al Jazeera from the port of Jaffa that Israel hijacked the ship in international waters.

She stressed that she refused to sign a pledge demanded by the occupying regime promising not to return to Gaza.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Arraf described the moment of arrest by the Israeli military: “They were armed to the teeth and had many cameras with them to broadcast the operation and make it seem as though they were treating us kindly and providing food and water. But we rejected all of it, to show solidarity with the starving people of Gaza.”