Israel’s far-right national security minister posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking international condemnation.
The video, shared on X by firebrand minister Itamar Ben Gvir, was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels at sea and began detaining hundreds of foreign activists at the southern port of Ashdod.
The video drew swift international uproar, while Ben Gvir himself was criticized by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Captioned “Welcome to Israel,” the footage shows dozens of activists forced to kneel with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground. At some points, the the Israeli national anthem can he heard playing in the background.
The footage also shows Ben Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists.
France said it had summoned the Israeli ambassador over the “unacceptable actions” of Ben Gvir, while Madrid condemned the “monstrous” treatment of activists and said Israel’s charge d’affaires had also been summoned in protest.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video and demanded the immediate release of the activists, among whom is the sister of President Catherine Connolly.
Italy and Greece also individually slammed the treatment of the activists and called for their citizens’ immediate release, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanding an apology from Israel.
Turkiye’s foreign ministry said Ben Gvir had “once again openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mentality of the Netanyahu government.”
Ben Gvir also drew the ire of Netanyahu, who said the minister’s conduct with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”
“I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs (activists) as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also slammed Ben Gvir on X, saying he had “knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display – and not for the first time.”
But Ben Gvir hit back at Saar, saying: “I am proud to be the minister in charge of the organizations that operated today against those supporters of terror.”
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod on Wednesday, a rights group said, after Israeli forces intercepted their vessels at sea.
Earlier, Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed at least 19 people, including four women and three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the casualties or specific incidents, but said that between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, it had targeted more than 25 sites of Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.