Türkiye will send flights to Israel to evacuate 430 Humanitarian Flotilla activists to Gaza

Published at: 21/05/2026 10:52 AM

The government of Türkiye will charter three repatriation flights to Ramón International Airport, in Israel, with the objective of evacuating the 430 activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) who were intercepted and detained while trying to deliver humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

The civil aircraft will operate under an emergency coordination scheme to remove aid workers of various nationalities from Israeli territory, following the intense international diplomatic efforts of the last few hours.

The capture of the humanitarian convoy occurred in international waters, about 250 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, where Israeli Navy ships carried out the approach to enforce the maritime blockade of the area.

The vessels of the civil flotilla, which had initially sailed from the port of Barcelona with tons of medical supplies and food, were diverted by Israeli military forces to their port terminals to begin control and subsequent expulsion processes.

The incident has triggered a strong diplomatic crisis and the rejection of the international community after the release of a video by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, in which he openly mocked the situation of aid workers in custody.

This fact provoked formal complaints from various governments in the region and a strong diplomatic protest on the part of the Chilean government, which denounced ill-treatment of four of its citizens deported expeditiously to the city of Istanbul.

Mazo News Team