“No food, no water, just humiliation—this is the face of occupation”: Sumud Flotilla testimonies

Since Wednesday night, Israeli authorities attacked 42 ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters en route to Gaza, detaining hundreds of international activists. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that 137 released activists had returned to Turkey.

Iqbal Gurbanar, a Turkish activist, said the occupying regime once again exposed its weakness before public opinion. He added: “They wanted us to cry, but we laughed and sang, and they were shocked. They kept us hungry, gave us one worthless plate of food for 14 people, denied us clean water, threw our medicines in front of us, and stole our belongings—just as they stole the homeland of the Palestinians.”

Zeinab Delak Tek Ocak said that the occupying regime displayed its “madness” in front of representatives from 72 countries. After protesters chanted against the fascist minister Ben-Gvir, the level of violence increased. Everyone in the cells said they would reveal the true face of Israel upon returning to their countries. “In Europe, their image collapsed.”

Osman Tashtein Kaya, a member of the main ship, described the seizure of the flotilla: “They tied our hands to humiliate us, showed more violence in response to our resistance, stole our belongings, and constantly moved us around in prison.”

Aytchin Kantoglu, another flotilla activist, added: “In the women’s holding area, they had a large banner showing the destruction of Gaza with the phrase ‘Welcome to Gaza.’ They wrote children’s names in blood on the walls. They withheld food for 40 hours and told us to drink toilet water. Women were forced to undergo strip searches, even inspections of our mouths and teeth.”

Abdelrazak Maqri, former head of the Algerian “Peace Society” movement—who was transferred to Turkey with five other Algerian citizens—said in his first statements after release: “We saw a clear picture of the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails: oppression, severe disrespect, and even the denial of medication for the sick, a blatant violation of humanitarian laws. The two days we spent in Israeli prisons felt like two years, not knowing our fate. Until this morning, we did not know our destination until we reached Eilat Airport and were flown to Istanbul, Turkey.”

Maqri added: “Thanks to God, we achieved our goal of raising public awareness, exposing Israel’s actions, and awakening global conscience, even though we could not reach the Gaza shore.” He emphasized that 11 Algerian citizens remain detained by Israel.

Activists from other countries—including Argentina, France, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, and the USA—shared similar accounts of beatings, humiliation, denial of water and medicine, the presence of special forces with police dogs to instill fear, and some being forced to kneel with hands tied for long hours. According to the Israeli legal organization Adalah, some activists were even denied access to a lawyer.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that among the released activists were 36 Turkish citizens as well as nationals from the USA, UAE, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan.

The Freedom Flotilla, which set sail in late August, represents the latest effort to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza. According to Palestinian sources, the blockade has resulted in the deaths of more than 67,000 people, tens of thousands of injuries, and a widespread humanitarian disaster.