Israeli Soldiers Raped Global Sumud Flotilla Activists, Organizer Reveals
Thiago Ávila says Israeli forces raped, tortured, and brutally beat Gaza aid flotilla activists, describing Israel as "a genocidal state that takes pleasure in violence and torturing people”
Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM — Thiago Ávila, organizer of the Global Sumud Flotilla, revealed horrifying details of abuse committed by Israeli forces against activists aboard the humanitarian convoy that attempted to break the siege on Gaza.
In a video testimony following the arrival of released participants, Ávila stated that flotilla members were raped, subjected to systematic sexual violence, brutally beaten, and tortured after being abducted by Israeli forces.
“There’s no easy way to say it, but I have to say, people got raped at the Global Sumud Flotilla. These monstrous soldiers, they raped our participants,” Ávila said.
He stressed that the crimes were not isolated incidents.
“It was not one, not two, not three. It’s many cases of sexual violence against our participants,” he stated.
Broken Bones, Beatings, and Torture on the Prison Boat
According to Ávila, participants were assaulted again during their transfer aboard what he described as a “prison boat” on the way to the port of Ashdod.
“In the prison boat on the way to the port of Ashdod, where they got once again beaten up, many people with broken ribs, many people with broken bones in the arms, in the collar bone, the ribs,” he said.
He described the Israeli soldiers involved as “monsters” and condemned Israel as “a genocidal state” that institutionalizes torture and sexual violence.
“We’re talking about a genocidal state that takes pleasure in the violence, that takes pleasure in torturing people, that use rape and systematic sexual violence against Palestinians but also against our flotilla members,” Ávila said.
“A Small Fraction” of What Palestinians Endure
Ávila emphasized that the atrocities suffered by flotilla activists represented only “a small fraction” of the crimes Palestinians face daily inside Israeli prisons.
He pointed specifically to the notorious Kitziot prison, where he said Palestinians are subjected to horrific torture practices.
“At the same prison of Kitziot they teach dogs how to rape Palestinians. They remove eyeballs of people. They kill them and throw them in mass graves,” he said.
The activist called on people around the world to rise up against Israel and reject normalization of its crimes.
“We need to stop this terrorist country,” Ávila declared.
He also named senior Israeli officials including Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Gideon Sa’ar, describing them as “terrorists ruling an occupier colonial state.”
Legal Cases Headed to International Courts
Ávila stated that the flotilla participants are undergoing medical examinations and preparing legal documentation that will be submitted to international institutions.
“This is going to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice. This needs to go everywhere,” he said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla had been carrying food, medicine, and baby formula to Gaza before being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
“They were taking food and medicine to Gaza. They were taking baby formula, and they got raped by soldiers, by monsters,” Ávila said.
He concluded with an urgent appeal for mass public action worldwide.
“We should and we must revolt. We must rise up. We must take to the streets. Don’t let this be normalized.”
International Backlash Against Israel
The allegations emerged amid growing international outrage over Israel’s treatment of Global Samoud Flotilla activists after the seizure of the humanitarian convoy.
Footage published by extremist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed activists handcuffed, forced to kneel, and subjected to degrading treatment inside Israeli detention facilities.
The scenes triggered diplomatic backlash across Europe and beyond. Spain demanded an official apology and the immediate release of detainees, while Germany called the abuse “absolutely unacceptable.” The Netherlands described the footage as “shocking,” and several other countries, including France, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, and the UK, also condemned Israel’s actions.
Qatar stated that the footage exposed “the scale of violations suffered by Palestinians,” while Amnesty International described the treatment of the activists as “shameful and inhuman.”(PW)
Why do so many nations acquiesce to the crimes of the Jewish State? Is it because it's a Jewish State? I think so.
Still, the bare minimum justified response would be for all nations with a modicum of respectability to amass a military force and overrun the Jewish State, destroying all Israeli military, strategic, and governmental Intelligence infrastructure, putting an immediate end to the ongoing war crimes being committed by Israeli Jews. The world must bring the Jewish State to its knees, then force it to make restitution for its destruction of Palestinian property and also compensation to the survivors of those civilians that Israel has murdered.