A French nurse who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza has said she was subjected to severe abuse after being detained by Israeli forces and later returned to France in a wheelchair with serious injuries.

Malika Bouya, a French nurse of Moroccan origin, said she joined the aid convoy for humanitarian reasons but that the mission ended with injuries including fractures in her neck and long-term physical damage.

Medical examinations in France reportedly confirmed two fractures in her cervical vertebrae as well as serious injuries to her arm.

According to Bouya, the flotilla was intercepted by Israeli naval forces in international waters. She said armed soldiers boarded the vessels, took control of the participants, and transferred them to a military ship.

She claimed that activists were forced to kneel or lie face down, beaten, and subjected to systematic abuse during detention. Bouya also alleged that some detainees were subjected to electric shocks, had their clothing torn, and were left exposed to cold water while soldiers behaved in a degrading manner.

She described one of the most severe episodes as taking place in what activists referred to as a “torture room,” where she said masked soldiers repeatedly beat detainees.

“I was screaming that I could not breathe, but they kept hitting me,” Bouya said, adding that when she was taken out of the area she saw other activists covered in blood, with fractures and serious injuries.

After her release, Bouya was initially taken to Türkiye for medical treatment before undergoing further examinations in France, where additional fractures were discovered.

She said legal proceedings for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity had been launched in France alongside other activists, and added that she continues to receive physical and psychological treatment.

Bouya said the experience had not weakened her resolve.

“We set out for Gaza to help, and they tried to intimidate us. But today our determination to continue the struggle is even stronger,” she said.(ILKHA)