Israel deports hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists amid international outcry

Israel said on May 21, 2026, that it had deported all of the foreign activists its forces seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla. The first group arrived in Turkey following global outcry over their treatment in custody. Hundreds of activists from countries around the world were placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on May 18. They were involved in the latest in a series of attempts to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.