Witnesses described scenes of physical abuse, humiliation, and starvation inside Israeli detention facilities.
Several activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli regime forces of torturing and degrading climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
A group of 137 deportees landed in Istanbul on Saturday, including 36 Turkish nationals and participants from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, and Jordan, according to Turkish officials.
Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media he personally witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg,” describing how the young activist was “dragged by her hair, beaten, and forced to kiss the Israeli flag.”
Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi and American participant Windfield Beaver gave similar accounts upon arrival in Istanbul, stating Thunberg was “paraded with an Israeli flag” and subjected to violent humiliation.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi said, adding that detainees were denied food, clean water, and medical care.
Beaver said Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda,” recalling how she was shoved into a room as Israeli far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.
Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino, who was part of the flotilla, also spoke of the abuse.
“Greta Thunberg, a brave woman only 22 years old, was humiliated, wrapped in an Israeli flag, and exhibited like a trophy,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Others described the same brutality. Turkish TV presenter Ikbal Gurpinar said, “They treated us like dogs. They left us hungry for three days. We had to drink from the toilet. It was a terribly hot day, and we were all roasting.”
Turkish activist Aycin Kantoglu said she saw bloodstained prison walls covered with names of Palestinian detainees. “We saw mothers writing their children’s names on the walls. We actually experienced a little of what Palestinians endure every day,” she said.
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that 26 Italians were deported while 15 others remained in Israeli custody.
Italian MP Arturo Scotto, who also joined the flotilla, told reporters, “Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza.”
Adalah, an Israeli human rights group, said detainees were forced to kneel for hours with hands zip-tied, denied medicine, and blocked from speaking with lawyers. The Israeli regime’s foreign ministry dismissed the claims as “complete lies,” asserting that detainees received “water, food, and restroom access” and that “all legal rights were fully upheld.”
Israel has come under mounting condemnation over the violent interception of the Gaza flotilla, in which naval forces stopped about 40 boats carrying humanitarian aid and detained more than 450 people.
Critics say the assault reflects the deepening brutality of Israel’s blockade, which has left Gaza’s 2.3 million residents trapped under siege during Israel’s ongoing war on the enclave.
The flotilla, launched in late August, was the latest global attempt to break the blockade and deliver life-saving aid to Palestinians.