Some of the activists detained while trying to reach Gaza by sea have returned to their home countries to describe abuse and humiliation at the hands of Israeli guards.
Some 450 activists were arrested as Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of 42 boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the famine-stricken territory.
Those detained between Wednesday and Friday were brought to Israel, where many remain in prison.
Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi said Israeli soldiers withheld medicines and treated prisoners “like monkeys.”
“This is called torture. It’s called torture, a denial of human rights, even the most basic ones,” he said on his return at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport late Saturday.
“They took away everyone’s medicine: people with heart disease, asthma, even an 86-year-old man… they took away his inhaler.”
Among those detained were Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.
Tommasi said Thunberg was singled out by Israeli forces after being arrested.
“We also saw Greta Thunberg at the port, in that case with her arms tied and an Israeli flag next to her, just a mockery,” he said.
“Let’s say the mockery was part of the verbal and psychological violence they always carried out, in order to demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about.”
The interception of the flotilla came as U.S. President Donald Trump was appearing to be brokering a fresh peace initiative in Gaza, including a proposed ceasefire, as he ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza.
Another Italian journalist, Lorenzo D’Agostino, said detainees were repeatedly woken during the two nights he spent behind bars. They were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us.”
“Overall, I felt I was being held by a terrorist organization,” he said after landing at Istanbul Airport, where 137 activists from 13 countries arrived from Israel on Saturday.
D’Agostino added that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis.”
