Who are the Gaza flotilla fighters kidnapped by Israel? | | Gaza News

Two Gaza-bound human rights activists appeared before an Israeli court days after they were kidnapped and detained along with 175 other campaigners by Israel in international waters near Greece.

Spanish citizen Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila have been on hunger strike while in prison despite continuing to drink water.

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The Global Sumud Flotilla consisting of more than 50 ships departed from France, Spain and Italy on April 12 with the aim of breaching the Israeli fence in Gaza and bringing supplies to the destroyed Palestinian territory.

Gaza has been under Israeli sea, land and air since 2005, and as of October 7, 2023, Israel has tightened its control over what goes in and out of it – home to 2.3 million people.

The activists were captured by Israeli forces in waters off Greece on Thursday. All were released except Abu Keshek and Avila.

So who are these two fighters and why is Israel imprisoning them?

Here’s what we know:

Who is Saif Abu Keshek?

Abu Keshek is a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin who was kidnapped on a flotilla in Crete on Thursday.

According to Global Sumud Flotilla website, he lives in Barcelona and has been organizing the Palestinian unity movement in Europe for more than 20 years. He and his wife have three children, one year old, four years old and seven years old.

Before joining this year’s flotilla, “Abukeshek was the leader of the Global March to Gaza and is currently the chair of the Global Coalition Against the Occupation of Palestine and represents the Intersindical Alternativa de Catalunya (IAC),” the website said. “He also works at the General Secretariat of the Popular Conference of Palestine Abroad and sits on the board of the European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine”.

After Israel seized the flotilla on Thursday, Abu Keshek was kidnapped and transferred to Shikma prison in Ashkelon. Shikma prison (also known as Ashkelon prison) in southern Israel has often been accused of torture and torture, especially after Israel’s war on Gaza began in 2023.

Abu Keshek was tortured on Saturday on an Israeli warship, the Global Sumud Flotilla. he said in the words of the activists’ accounts that were released.

The Israeli human rights and legal center Adalah visited the two men in Shikma prison in Israel on Saturday and said: “The disturbing testimony provided by the activists shows the brutality and long-term detention by the Israeli army during the last two days that they have been at sea.”

Abu Keshek “said that he was handcuffed and blindfolded, and forced to lie face down on the ground from the time of his arrest until this morning, which resulted in injuries to his face and hands”, it said.

“Avila said that he was subjected to severe torture by Israeli soldiers during the seizure,” it added, including “being dragged face down on the ground and severely beaten to death twice”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to be given message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech on Friday, saying that Spain will always protect its citizens and defend international law.

“We want the release of the Spanish citizen who was illegally detained by the Netanyahu government,” he said.

Israel’s actions have also sparked protests and criticism from rights groups and the government. The Turkish Foreign Ministry called it a “deception”.

Who is Thiago Avila?

Avila is an environmentalist from Brazil. According to the Global Sumud Flotilla website, the 38-year-old has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter with his wife and has been committed to cooperation with Palestine for more than 20 years.

“He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and was one of the coordinators of the Madleen project that was hijacked and hijacked by the Zionist group in June 2025,” the website said.

Avila was detained in Ayalon prison in Israel on June 11, 2025, for several days after being kidnapped on the Freedom Flotilla mission.

According to the Brazilian ambassador, after his recent arrest in Israel at the Shikma prison, Avila reported that he was tortured, beaten and tortured.

“During the observation that he was separated by glass and could not communicate freely, the embassy officials saw visible signs on his face. He reported severe pain, especially on his shoulder,” said the Global Sumud Flotilla.

What did the court say?

On Sunday, a court in Ashkelon, Israel, approved a two-day extension for the activists who were brought to Israel for questioning.

“The court extended their detention by two days,” said Miriam Azem, Adalah’s international affairs coordinator, who is representing the men, told AFP.

The Israeli authorities also asked the court to extend the period of detention by four days.

“The Global Sumud Flotilla reiterates that the forced transfer of civilians from European and European waters to prisons, combined with proven cases of torture and lack of due process, is a serious violation of international law and must be met with responsibility,” the flotilla said in a statement.

The organization has also called on governments, human rights organizations, law enforcement agencies, media houses and human rights organizations around the world to call for his release.