Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has posted a video showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground.
The footage, published on Ben Gvir's X account on Wednesday and captioned "Welcome to Israel", shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat with the Israeli national anthem blaring, and the minister is seen waving an Israeli flag.
Meanwhile, Italy has summoned the Israeli ambassador over the treatment of activists involved in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani described as "unacceptable".
“The images of Israeli Minister Ben Gvir are unacceptable. It is unacceptable that these protesters, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates their human dignity,” the two said in a joint statement.
The Italian government said it was taking immediate steps at the highest institutional levels to secure the release of Italian citizens involved in the incident.
Rome also demanded an apology from Israel for the treatment of activists and for what it described as a disregard for its explicit requests.
"For these reasons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will immediately summon the Israeli ambassador to request formal clarification on what happened," the statement added.
Global Sumud Flotilla previously said Israel had seized all vessels in its aid convoy
Together, they were carrying 428 people from 44 countries, departing from the Turkish district of Marmaris in a new attempt to break the illegal Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.
This was not the first such incident involving the flotilla.
In late April, the Israeli army attacked flotilla boats in international waters off the Greek island of Crete. The convoy at the time included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
