Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, announced on Thursday that Turkey will organise special flights, sending several aircraft to evacuate the Turkish and international activists who were illegally detained by Israel in international waters whilst sailing towards Gaza aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla.
According to reports in Turkish media, the Turkish airline Turkish Airlines (THY) has reportedly sent at least three aircraft to Israel to collect the detained activists. Fidan reported via his social media accounts that arrangements are continuing to bring the citizens arrested following the intervention against the flotilla back to Turkey. The activists are expected to arrive in Istanbul at around 6.00 pm this evening, Turkish time (5.00 pm CET).
“We are working with all relevant institutions to ensure the safety and safe return of our citizens who were detained as a result of the illegal intervention against the Global Sumud Flotilla,” Fidan stated on social media.
“With the special flights we will organise today, we plan to transport our citizens and participants from third countries to Türkiye,” said the head of Turkish diplomacy. “We will continue to protect the rights of our citizens and fulfil our humanitarian responsibility towards civilians in Gaza; we will continue to support the Palestinian people with determination,” Fidan added.
Physical and verbal abuse by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against the detainees
The so-called of the Sumud Flotilla 2026 Spring Mission, whose aim was to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, was intercepted by the Israeli army off the coast of Crete during the night of 29 April. During the operation, carried out in international waters some 600 nautical miles (1,111 kilometres) off the coast of Gaza, Israeli forces detained 177 activists.
Subsequently, on 18 May, Israeli forces launched a new operation against 50 vessels and 428 activists from 44 countries aboard the flotilla, which were sailing in international waters en route to Gaza. The activists – among whom were 78 Turkish citizens – were detained and transferred to Israel, where several organisations have repeatedly denounced abuses and torture against the detainees.
Indeed, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday joined the voices of strong condemnation after the verbal and physical abuse perpetrated by Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, against the activists who were detained following the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters. In a statement, Ankara emphasised that the minister, whom it described as “one of the key figures in the ongoing genocide in Gaza”, has once again demonstrated to the international community the “violent and barbaric mindset” of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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