Sumud Flotilla detainees start indefinite hunger strike

Detainees from the Global Sumud Flotilla are on an indefinite hunger strike since held by Israeli forces, the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza said on Friday.

In a statement, the committee said several activists held aboard the flotilla vessels attacked in international waters "announced that they have entered an open-ended hunger strike from the moment of their detention."

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized almost all of the 44 vessels of the humanitarian flotilla on Thursday and detained more than 450 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla sought to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and break Israel's blockade of the enclave.

Israel has maintained the blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed over 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. UN agencies and rights groups have repeatedly warned that Gaza is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.