FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 October 2025 — 17:15 (Palestine Time)
Contact: Hay Sha Wiÿa, Press Officer – Freedom Flotilla Coalition +1 210 834 8155 media@freedomflotilla.org | thousand.madleens@proton.me
All Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens Volunteers Freed from Israel’s Unlawful Detention 12 October 2025
All those who were aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) vessel Conscience and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza (TMTG) sailboats have now been released from Israel’s unlawful detention. Most have been expelled, and none remain in the custody of the Israeli occupation.
The flotilla sailed in a non-violent direct action to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and to open a sea corridor to Gaza amid the ongoing genocide. The flotilla of 9 boats carried 145 people from 30 countries, including elected officials, journalists, specialized doctors, and over 15000 kilograms of vital aid worth over $110,000 USD in medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional supplies for Gaza’s starving hospitals. They were violently abducted in international waters approximately 120 nautical miles from Gaza’s coast on 8 October 2025—an act that constitutes piracy and a grave breach of international law. This assault followed the earlier abduction of the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose 462 participants have now also been released.
Dozens of international volunteers were deported via Jordan earlier today. The final individuals released from Shikma Prison in Ashkelon were Huwaida Arraf and Zohar Regev, both dual nationals holding Israeli citizenship, who were wrongfully held under fabricated criminal accusations before being released by Israeli police.
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which represented 145 detainees from FFC and TMTG, reported widespread degrading and ill-treatment by Israeli forces. Testimonies from detainees describe physical and verbal assaults, confiscation of belongings, prolonged exposure to the sun, denial of access to lawyers, and detention in harsh, unsanitary conditions at Ktzi’ot Prison. Food and water were insufficient and hearings took place without prior notice or proper legal representation.
Israel’s armed assault on unarmed civilians in international waters, its seizure of humanitarian vessels, and its kidnapping of participants are clear violations of international maritime and humanitarian law. These crimes further expose the complete impunity global governments allow Israel, enabling its continued human right abuses.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens to Gaza reaffirm that a ceasefire is not enough. Israel’s illegal blockade must end, Gaza must be free, Palestinians must receive unhindered aid as per the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, and all political, social, and human rights of the Palestinian people must be upheld.
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