ALBAWABA- Foreign activists detained by Israel after their Gaza-bound aid ship was seized have launched an open-ended hunger strike in protest, according to the Adalah Legal Center.
The ship, Handala, carrying essential humanitarian supplies, including baby formula, food, and medicine, was intercepted by Israeli forces off the Gaza coast on Saturday night. On board were 21 unarmed civilians, including lawmakers, healthcare workers, and volunteers from various countries.
In a statement issued Monday, and reported by Anadolu News, Adalah confirmed that most of the detainees are refusing food to protest what they describe as unlawful detention.
"The continued detention of these civilian activists, who were forcibly taken from international waters, constitutes a grave violation of international law," the organization stated, demanding their immediate release ahead of court hearings scheduled the same day at Givon Prison in Ramla, central Israel.
Adalah also reported that five of the detainees have either been deported or are expected to be deported imminently.
The Handala was launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) from Italy in an effort to break Israel’s months-long blockade of Gaza, where 2.4 million residents are facing a deepening famine.
The mission is the latest in a series of humanitarian flotillas intercepted by Israel in international waters. In June, Israeli forces seized the ship Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, including prominent climate activist Greta Thunberg and French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan.
In May, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta. Israel has maintained an 18-year blockade on Gaza and has fully sealed all crossings since March 2, 2025, blocking humanitarian convoys despite urgent international appeals. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 147 Palestinians, 88 of them children, have died of starvation since October 2023.
Meanwhile, Israel's military offensive on Gaza, launched on October 7, 2023, has killed nearly 60,000 people, most of them women and children, and left much of the enclave in ruins.
The siege has sparked global outrage and led to growing legal pressure on Israel. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Separately, Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
As hunger and despair mount, the hunger strike by detained foreign activists draws renewed international attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and the mounting legal and moral scrutiny facing Israel.
