On May 18, 2025, Israeli naval forces intercepted the sailboat La Sirena in international waters near Cyprus, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying activists and symbolic humanitarian aid to Gaza. The seven crew members were taken at gunpoint and transferred to the Israeli military landing craft Nahshon, which served as a floating prison.

The activist describes being processed in a metal container where guards beat him, used Tasers, and threatened him with a knife. At one point, a guard stabbed his hand with a folding knife, causing a 4cm wound, for which no medical treatment was provided. He was also forced to strip naked.

Over 170 activists were held for more than 50 hours in an open compound of containers, given minimal water and frozen bread. Guards regularly threw stun grenades and fired rubber bullets. Some detainees, particularly those appearing Turkish or Arab, were tortured longer. The activist recounts the psychological terror of constant bangs, screams, and laser sights.

The ordeal continued after docking at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where activists were beaten, forced into stress positions, and dragged across the processing center. The activist warns that their 72-hour experience is only a fraction of what Palestinian prisoners endure, and calls the interception an act of piracy by a state that creates new rules of the sea.

Source: www.aljazeera.com