The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has alleged that Israeli law enforcement and prison officials sexually abused multiple individuals detained after Israeli forces stopped flotilla boats attempting to breach the Gaza blockade. The group said the alleged violations, which include rape, constitute serious breaches of international law and warrant an independent global inquiry.
According to the coalition, the alleged incidents occurred after Israeli authorities intercepted the vessels in international waters and took several hundred civilians into custody, including reporters and human rights activists. Israeli officials have not publicly addressed the specific claims.
The allegations gained public attention following testimony by German journalist Anna Liedtke, who was travelling on the flotilla ship Conscience. Speaking at an international forum on December 21, Liedtke said she was sexually assaulted while detained by Israeli authorities after she objected to a strip search. The coalition said it has since been assisting her.
The group also said that two others held during the operation—Italian journalist Vincenzo Fullone and Australian activist Surya McEwen—reported similar experiences of sexual abuse while in custody. It added that additional accounts could surface, but emphasised that survivors would determine whether and when to speak publicly.
If substantiated, the coalition said, the allegations would amount to severe violations of international human rights and humanitarian norms, and it called for independent and credible mechanisms to ensure accountability.
The coalition framed the claims as part of a wider pattern of mistreatment by Israeli security forces against detainees, particularly Palestinians. It pointed to documentation by Palestinian and international rights organisations describing sexual abuse, humiliating searches and other forms of ill-treatment in Israeli detention centres.
Human rights groups, including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, have reported the alleged use of sexual torture against Palestinian detainees since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza. United Nations agencies and organisations such as Amnesty International have previously flagged concerns over sexual and gender-based violence in Israeli detention, with some allegations described as potentially constituting war crimes.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly rejected assertions of systemic abuse, stating that their security agencies operate within legal frameworks and that complaints of misconduct are examined. Rights organisations, however, have long expressed scepticism over the independence and effectiveness of such investigations.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Israeli accountability processes lacked credibility and accused state institutions of allowing impunity to persist. It said it intends to pursue international legal action, including engagement with the International Criminal Court and UN bodies.
The group further urged the United Nations and its member states to demand access to Israeli detention facilities, called on the ICC to scrutinise allegations of sexual violence and torture, and appealed to media outlets to devote greater attention to reported abuses involving Palestinians and foreign activists alike.
The coalition said the allegations must be understood within the broader political context of Israel’s occupation and the ongoing denial of Palestinian rights.
