By Midnight Adams
London, (The Muslim News): France has opened a war crimes investigation into Israel’s treatment of Global Sumud Flotilla activists during the most recent mission to Gaza, following allegations of “torture” and “abuse.”
French anti-terrorism prosecutors announced on June 5 they had opened the investigations after a referral from the foreign ministry last month.
This comes after the widespread circulation of video and photographic evidence depicting bruising and injuries to activists from the flotilla.
428 activists headed to Gaza were attacked and detained by Israeli forces on April 29 and May 18, according to the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) who organised the mission.
Organisers have declared at least 15 reported cases of sexual assault by Israeli forces towards flotilla members, including rape.
The vessels were travelling as part of a fleet of 58 boats en route to Gaza, with 22 vessels being intercepted in international waters off the coast of Crete in April, and the remaining boats captured north of Port Said, Egypt.
In an interview with The Guardian, Australian activist Violet Coco alleged that, during her detention by Israeli forces, she was held at gunpoint, “stripped of her clothes and pushed into a shipping container where she was beaten, kicked and sexually assaulted.”
Coco also alleged that soldiers took photos of her naked body and “denied her access to food, water and a lawyer.”
Flotilla participant Alonso Agustin Santos Rivera echoed these allegations, saying: “they [Israeli soldiers] put your hands against the wall, and pulled your clothes down. They grope you.”
Israeli authorities have denied all allegations that the activists were treated unlawfully, despite a widely-circulated video of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir kicking and taunting flotilla members being held at Ashdod Port.
Activists described being strip searched and held in shipping containers at the port before being transferred to overcrowded prisons.
French activists from the flotilla have also come forward with allegations of sexual abuses, with Al Jazeera noting: “One returnee described a soldier groping and slapping her in a dark container, and being terrified that she would be raped.”
Two of the French activists apprehended by Israeli authorities in May are still hospitalized in Türkiye.
Among those detained included Margaret Connolly, sister of Ireland’s Prime Minister, Margaret Connolly, and activists Thiago Alvia and Saif Abukeshek.
In a press release on May 3, GSF said that the 175 captured activists had been subjected to 40 hours of maltreatment including the denial of food and water, having to sleep on water-soaked floors, and beatings.
35 of the captured activists were hospitalized following their release from custody, with documented injuries including nasal fractures, broken bones and ribs, severe bruising, and concussion from being dragged across the floor and knocked unconscious by security forces.
The group noted that violence was particularly directed towards those protecting Thiago Alvia and Saif Abukeshek, both of whom faced extended time in the Shikma detention facility in Askalan before their deportation.
In a video recorded by an activist aboard one of the seized vessels, Israeli Defence Force ( IDF) broadcast says: “Attempts to breach the lawful maritime security blockade of the Gaza Strip constitute a violation of humanitarian law.
“Any further attempt to sail to Gaza leaves the IDF no choice but to take all necessary measures at its disposal to enforce a lawful maritime security blockade.”
A statement released by the Global Sumud Flotilla, in response to the interception, said: “This case is not an isolated incident. It is part of a sustained attack on Palestinian life and on those who act in solidarity with it.
“The Global Sumud Flotilla is a civilian humanitarian mission, operating fully within international law, seeking to break Israel’s unlawful siege on Gaza, a siege that has produced catastrophic humanitarian conditions and widespread starvation among Palestinians.”
The allegations have been met with concern from leaders globally.
Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, called Israel’s treatment of detained activists “unacceptable”, and former Prime Minister of Ireland, Michaél Martin, said he was “appalled at the shocking behaviour.”
In a joint statement, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Türkiye, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Federative Republic of Brazil, Republic of Colombia, Republic of Indonesia, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, State of Libya, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of South Africa and Kingdom of Spain all “condemn in the strongest terms the renewed Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, condemned footage released by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showing detained activists being taunted. She re-emphasised Australia’s pre-existing sanctions against Ben-Gvir.
A spokesperson from the German Foreign Ministry said: “We naturally expect a full explanation, as some of the allegations that have been made are serious,” and spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations were “very concerned by these reports [of sexual violence].”
Speaking to GSF, Luigi Daniele, Associate Professor in International Law, said: “Our duty to mobilize is not only toward the Palestinians, but to defend our own right not to be intimidated, not to witness the annihilation of an entire human group in silence.”
Organisers of the flotilla have indicated that they will continue sailing to Gaza to break the blockade, carrying aid and food supplies to the population of 2.1 million still facing what the UN calls a “siege-induced famine.”
The situation in Gaza remains dire. In an address to the Security Council earlier this week, UN Assistant Secretary General Khaled Khiari said: “Food security remains a challenge, while essential services, particularly water, sanitation, and health, are again on the brink of collapse.”
Israel continues to insist its actions comply with international law, accusing the GSF of “joining hands” with Hamas “with the aim of sabotaging President Trump’s peace plan.”
In a statement released on May 20, the GSF said: “The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials.”
The flotilla has been sailing to Gaza since 2008, when two boats, the Liberty and the Free Gaza, successfully breached the Israeli blockade and delivered life-saving aid to Gazans.
Midnight Adams is an independent journalist
[Photo: Spanish activists returning from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla accused Israeli forces of carrying out beatings, electric shocks and other abuses following the interception of their vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, in Barcelona, Spain on May 23, 2026. Photographer: Lorena Sopena Lopez /AA]
