Serdar Dincel
03 May 2026•Update: 03 May 2026
An Israeli court extended on Saturday the detention of Thiago de Avila and Saif Abukeshek, two volunteers aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, for two days.
Israeli prosecutors sought a four-day detention extension for the Global Sumud Flotilla activists over security-related allegations, according to a statement by Adalah, an Israeli advocacy group for Palestinians inside Israel.
However, their lawyers argued that "the entire legal process is fundamentally flawed and illegal," the statement added.
No charges have been filed against either activists and they remain under interrogation at the pre-indictment stage, the group said.
"Both Mr. de Avila and Mr. Abukeshek will be transferred back to the Shikma detention facility in Israel (Ashkelon), where they remain in isolation," it added.
The activists are on hunger strike in protest of their unlawful detention and ill-treatment.
The Global Sumud Flotilla was attacked on Thursday near the Greek island, some 600 nautical miles from its destination, the blockade-ravaged enclave of Gaza.
The flotilla's first ships, carrying humanitarian aid, left Barcelona on April 12, while the main fleet set sail from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26, aiming to break Israel's years-long blockade of Gaza.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
