The approximately 175 activists from the Sumud Global Flotilla, detained by Israel in international waters, are already in Greece, said the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry announced, however, that two of them — one Brazilian and one Palestinian — will be taken to Israel for interrogation.
In a message on social media, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today the decision to transfer the Palestinian Saif Abu Keshek to Israel as “suspected of belonging to a terrorist organization” and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila as “suspected of illegal activities”, without specifying the charges.
“All the flotilla activists are already in Greece, with the exception of Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila,” sources from the Israeli Foreign Ministry said later, referring to the approximately 175 people detained on Thursday by Israeli forces while traveling to the Gaza Strip on a humanitarian mission.
Ávila, who participated in other flotillas to Gaza, was arrested in April at Buenos Aires airport after being denied entry into Argentina – an ally of Israel – where he was supposed to announce the local delegation of the Sumud Global Flotilla. The Brazilian is one of the coordinators of the Sumud Global Flotilla for Gaza and recently participated in the Nossa América Train to Cuba.
Abu Keshek is also the flotilla’s coordinator and, in an interview with Middle East Eye in September 2025, defended the non-violence strategy in the face of reports that Israel planned to designate activists as terrorists.
The Israeli army intercepted 22 of the flotilla’s 58 vessels in the early hours of Thursday, about 100 kilometers west of the Greek island of Crete, in international waters, and transferred the activists to an Israeli ship.
Today, 33 of the participating vessels were sailing along the southern coast of Crete toward the Gaza Strip, according to the organization’s ship tracker, but their destination is still unknown.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was coordinating with Israeli authorities for the safe disembarkation of activists in Greece. A delegation from the Greek Ministry traveled to the activists’ arrival point on Thursday night to coordinate actions and cooperate with foreign consular authorities.
At least three Portuguese are participating in the flotilla, the Government of Portugal said on Thursday, adding that it is waiting for Israel to confirm whether they were among those detained in the interception of some boats carried out on Wednesday night.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Thursday that the Israeli ambassador was called to explain the arrest of pro-Palestinian activists, ensuring that consular authorities are prepared to welcome the Portuguese, in Greece or Israel.
