Israel deports two Gaza aid flotilla activists
Key takeaways
- The pair was abducted by Israeli forces from the aid flotilla in late April and held in Israel.
- The pair were seized by Israeli forces and taken to Israel for questioning while others were taken to Crete and released.
- “Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, from the provocation flotilla, were deported today from Israel” on Sunday after an investigation, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted on X.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The pair was abducted by Israeli forces from the aid flotilla in late April and held in Israel.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, right, and Spanish activist Saif Abu Keshek appear in court in Ashkelon, Israel [File: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Reuters Published On 10 May 202610 May 2026Israel has deported two foreign activists who had been abducted from a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists sailing with the flotilla when it was intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of the Greek island of Crete on April 30.