Brazilian activist Thiago Avila and his fellows were detained aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen.
Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship, has begun a hunger strike in protest against the Israeli attack on the Maldeen vessel in international waters.
Media reports confirmed on Wednesday that Avila had begun an open-ended hunger and water strike.
The indefinite action would involve refusing food and water, sources said.
Four activists were deported by the Israeli regime on Tuesday, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, while the remaining eight, who refused to sign deportation orders, were being held at Givon Prison in the Israeli-occupied city of Ramla.
The eight appeared before a Ramla detention court on Tuesday, facing deportation orders issued by Israel’s authorities.
The activists included citizens from Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Turkey. They were all part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, aiming to break Gaza’s blockade.
A legal team representing the activists demanded their immediate, unconditional release and their return to Madleen to complete their mission of delivering aid to Gaza before returning to their home countries.
The lawyers argued that Israel lacks jurisdiction, as the vessel was intercepted in international waters, rendering the detentions and deportation orders unlawful.
The detained activists reported being “kidnapped” and forcibly brought to 1948-Israeli occupied territories, emphasizing that their sole aim was to break the Israeli siege and deliver aid to Gazans, the legal team stated.
The team contended that the activists were forcibly brought to the Israeli-occupied territories from international waters, labeling them “illegal infiltrators” without a legal basis.
The activists also complained of unhygienic conditions while in detention, including bed bugs and undrinkable tap water.
Israeli forces seized the vessel in international waters early Monday, detaining the 12 activists from several countries while they were attempting to reach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid to challenge the Israeli blockade.
The lawyers condemned Israel’s blockade of Gaza as an unlawful act of collective punishment aimed at starving civilians and violating interim measures issued by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
They said the activists acted within their legal rights to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, where residents face famine risks.
Israeli forces on Monday attacked a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza as the vessel approached the coastal waters of the besieged Palestinian territory.
Avila, onboard the Madleen ship, had said in a social media post on Monday morning that they were surrounded by Israeli army ships.
He said the regime’s forces have attacked Madleen, the humanitarian aid vessel that was attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
UN agencies and major aid groups have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. They say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.
