Ben Gvir posts video of himself taunting bound and detained Gaza flotilla activists, sparks global outcry
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday in which he is seen taunting activists from a Gaza flotilla intercepted by Israel, immediately sparking an international outcry.
The activists and their flotilla boats were invaded and captured in international waters where Israel has no control.
After being attacked and grabbed from their boats, the activists can be seen in the clip forced to kneel on the ground, with their hands tied, at an Ashdod port facility.
The video begins with a female activist shouting “Free Palestine,” before being grabbed by the head and shoved to the ground by officers who drag her out of Ben Gvir’s way, as he tours the facility.
With dozens of bound activists kneeling on the ground, Ben Gvir is seen waving a large Israeli flag and shouting in Hebrew, “Welcome to Israel! We are in charge here!”
International furor
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the clip “unacceptable,” taking issue with the treatment of activists that violated their human dignity. Italy’s foreign ministry said a member of the country’s parliament and a journalist were among those detained.
Meloni wrote on X that her government was taking immediate steps at the highest levels to secure the release of all Italian citizens who were detained.
“Italy further demands an apology for the treatment of these demonstrators and for the utter contempt shown toward the explicit requests of the Italian government,” she said, adding that Israel’s ambassador in Rome would also be summoned.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tweeted that he too had summoned Israel’s ambassador in Paris over the mistreatment of the French nationals aboard the flotilla.
“Whatever one thinks of this flotilla — and we have indicated on several occasions our disapproval of this initiative — our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible,” he wrote.
Citizens of South Korea were also among those detained by Israeli naval forces, President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday, calling Israel’s actions “way out of line.”
Spain and Ireland also issued statements, calling out Ben Gvir’s “monstrous” and “appalling” behavior.
The sister of Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly was also among the over 400 activists who were on board the flotilla that set sail from Turkey last week.
Footage shows Palestinian prisoners in scenes filmed during National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the Ofer Prison on February 13, 2026.
Organizers said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance, something aid bodies say is still in short supply, despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.
Israeli rights group Adalah said in a statement that the activists had been “detained at Ashdod port” and “taken into Israel against their will as Adalah attorneys entered for legal consultations.”
The flotilla’s organizers said in a statement that the activists would be taken to Ketziot prison in Israel’s southern Negev desert. It said that Adalah lawyers would not be able to meet them until they get to Ketziot.
Israeli naval commandos intercept boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Cyprus on May 18, 2026.
A live feed on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s website showed Israeli commandos boarding the vessels on Tuesday as activists in life vests put their hands up. The troops then destroyed cameras mounted on the ships.
The Israel Defense Forces began stopping the flotilla around 167 miles (268 kilometers) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website. The vessels departed last week from Marmaris, Turkey, which, along with Gaza-ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, called the interdictions an act of “piracy.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Israel’s treatment of detained Gaza flotilla activists “abominable,” adding that Israel’s ambassador will be summoned to Ottawa after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared a video taunting them.
The activists were forced to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads touching the floor, footage shows.
In the video, the activists appear to be inside a makeshift detention area at Ashdod port and on the deck of a ship.
“What we’ve seen, including the video shared by [Ben-Gvir], is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters on a conference call. “This is a matter we take very, very seriously. It’s a matter of humane treatment of civilians, and I can assure you that we are acting with absolute urgency.”
Carney said officials will “demand assurances regarding the safety and security of Canadians involved.” Global Sumud Canada says 12 Canadians who were aboard the flotilla have all been detained, as of Tuesday.
“The protection of civilians and respect for human dignity must be upheld everywhere, at all times,” Carney said in a post on X, noting that Canada imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year, over repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities.
International backlash
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said French citizens must be treated with respect and freed as soon as possible, though he added that he opposed the flotilla’s approach.
The Italian government said it’s taking urgent action at the top official levels to secure the speedy release of Italian citizens among the detainees and is demanding an official apology for what it said was Israel’s disregard of explicit requests.U.K.’s foreign minister Yvette Cooper said she was “truly appalled” by the video, adding that British officials are in contact with the families of several British nationals involved and was providing consular support. Cooper did not indicate if she will summon its Israeli ambassador.
An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, accused Israeli authorities of “employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists.”
Adalah said in a statement that this followed similar patterns of ill treatment by Israeli authorities against activists in previous flotilla missions, “for which Israel faced zero accountability.” The group said that its lawyers and other volunteers were providing legal advice to activists at Ashdod and were demanding their immediate release.
“The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials,” the group said.
Here are outraged folks making public statements and they claim that some heads of states and governments—who have never spoken out before—claim to be outraged because it is their own compatriots who are on their knees with their hands behind their backs. Where was their outrage when Palestinians were filmed in that same humiliating, forced position? Hypocrites.
And let’s be honest, the abuses suffered by Palestinian detainees aren’t even comparable. The activists will be released or deported shortly, and no soldier will dare to pierce their anus with a stick or let them die of hunger; they won’t lose all their muscle mass in a few months, because they are citizens of Western countries—not the defenseless and oppressed Palestinians, who have no rights and no protection.
The same Israel and their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (facing ICC Warrant now) have been committing the most horrifying genocide in Gaza for the last three years. This is why that flotilla with human rights activists was coming to Gaza.
These are bodies of patients killed by IDF in a hospital in Gaza City in the last three years since Israel launched their massive war in Gaza.
This is why the videos of international activists being handcuffed and roughed up by IDF which is causing international backlash really means nothing in terms of the level of atrocious violation and just crude massive murder and brutality Israel commits with the full support of the UN, EU and the international community organizations.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
