A Brazilian activist, Thiago Ávila, has launched a hunger strike following his detention on the “Madleen,” a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, according to Adalah, an Israeli human rights organization.

The vessel, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was seized early Monday as it sought to break Israel’s 17-year blockade of Gaza to deliver critical aid.

The Madleen carried twelve international activists from Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and Turkey. While four, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were deported on Tuesday, eight others, including Ávila, remain in Givon Prison in Ramla after refusing to sign deportation orders. They now face legal proceedings under Israel’s Entry Law, which allows detention for up to 72 hours for those refusing voluntary deportation.

Adalah’s legal team argued in a five-hour hearing in Ramla on Tuesday that Israel’s interception of the ship in international waters violated maritime law, asserting there is no legal basis to label the activists as “illegal infiltrators.” The organization condemned Israel’s Gaza blockade as collective punishment, citing a humanitarian crisis and referencing the International Court of Justice’s interim measures in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

The detained activists described their treatment as a “kidnapping,” reporting they were forcibly brought to Israel and held in unsanitary conditions, including bedbugs and a lack of clean water. Adalah has called for their immediate release, demanding they be allowed to resume their mission and return to their home countries.

The detentions come amid growing international criticism of Israel’s genocidal aggression in Gaza, which has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians since October 2023, mostly women and children, according to health officials. Israel faces war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court and genocide allegations at the ICJ, yet continues its offensive and blockade, severely limiting aid and exacerbating famine and displacement in Gaza. (ILKHA)