Türkiye sends flights to Israel to get flotilla activists

Türkiye on Thursday said it was sending charter flights to Israel to repatriate hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists, after Israeli forces detained them in scenes that sparked international condemnation.

"We plan to bring our citizens and participants from third countries to Türkiye via special charter flights we will organise today," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a statement.

Foreign ministry sources said "three flights" with a capacity for "more than 400 passengers" were being sent to Ramon airport some 20 kilometres (14 miles) from the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat.

Around 50 vessels set sail from Türkiye on May 14 seeking to break Israel's blockade of the besieged Palestinian territory and were joined at sea by a handful of others.

Israeli forces began intercepting them off Cyprus on Tuesday, with Israeli officials and the flotilla organisers saying some 430 activists were detained.

They were taken to Israel where footage posted by the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed them being forced to kneel, their hands tied behind their backs, foreheads on the ground.

The images sparked a wave of global shock and disgust, with Ankara saying it "openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mentality" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Flotilla organisers said the activists would arrive at Istanbul airport on the European side of the city at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).

Local media said 78 Turkish nationals were among participating in the flotilla.

The Hamas-run Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, with all entry points controlled by Israel.

This latest flotilla was the third bid in a year aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza, which has suffered severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.