May 10 (Reuters) – Israel deported two activists, Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila, on Sunday after arresting them aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, the foreign ministry said.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
They were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation and Avila was suspected of illegal activity; both denied the allegations, saying they were on a humanitarian mission for Gaza’s civilian population and that their arrest in international waters was unlawful.
Gaza is largely run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist group by Israel and much of the West.
The group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel started the Gaza war that has left much of the enclave’s population homeless and dependent on aid, which humanitarian agencies say is arriving too slowly.
(Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Kim Coghill and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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