Jerusalem: Three foreign activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship seized by Israel have agreed to be deported to their home countries, an Israeli legal centre said. Adalah Centre announced that Antonio Mazzeo of Italy, Gabrielle Cathala of France, and US activist Jacob Berger have consented to immediate deportation. The legal centre confirmed that these activists will be deported from Israel in the coming hours.
According to TRTworld.com, fifteen other activists, including nationals from Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Norway, the UK, and the US, have refused to sign deportation orders and remain in Israeli custody pending a tribunal hearing. Two dual US-Israeli nationals, Huwaida Arraf and Bob Suberi, were released after police interrogation and are currently with Adalah's legal team, the centre stated.
Adalah noted it has not yet been able to meet with four other detainees: Ange Sahuquet of France, Dr. Frank Romano, a dual US-French citizen, and Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed El-Bakkali of Morocco and cameraman Waad Al Musa, a US-Iraqi citizen. The aid ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail from Italy in an attempt to break a months-long Israeli siege, which has been causing rapidly spreading starvation in the region.
In recent months, Israel has intercepted multiple Gaza-bound aid ships in international waters. In June, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, detaining 12 international activists, while in May, the MV Conscience was attacked by drones near Malta. Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of aid convoys and ignoring international calls to reopen them.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 133 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 87 children. Israel has reportedly killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the blockaded enclave. Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.
Experts, however, contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000. Over the course of the genocide, Israel has reduced most of the blockaded enclave to ruins, and practically displaced all of its population.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.