4 Belgian Gaza-bound flotilla members met by crowds in Brussels

Four Belgian activists who were detained by Israel while attempting to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla returned to Brussels on Tuesday.

Family members, supporters of Palestine and activists gathered at the Brussels International Airport to welcome the returnees.

The arrivals area was decorated with Palestinian flags, models of the fleet and photos of the participants. Demonstrators chanted, "We are all Gaza's children", "Boycott Israel", "Stop the genocide" and "Free Palestine."

The activists, arriving on a flight from Athens, briefly embraced their relatives before addressing the crowd with speeches and chants.

They recounted how Israeli forces attacked the fleet, detained passengers in international waters and held Palestinians in prisons while denying access to food, water and medical care.

The activists also described facing physical and psychological abuse and demanded that the Belgian government to impose sanctions on Israel.

The flotilla, made up of activists from various nations, had set sail to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza when it was attacked by Israeli forces in international waters last week.

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels from the flotilla beginning on Wednesday, detaining more than 470 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla was trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel's blockade of the enclave.

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

Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable, with widespread starvation and the spread of disease.