Activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces en route way to Gaza, were allegedly beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted while in detention, according to CNN, citing Palestinian legal aid group Adalah, which collected testimony from the activists.
Israeli forces arrested 430 people on board 50 ships in international waters on Tuesday to halt a flotilla of volunteers trying to bring aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.
Global Sumud Flotilla organizers said the group had documented at least 15 cases of sexual abuse, with the worst occurring on one Israeli landing craft, which had been converted into a makeshift prison with barbed wire and shipping containers.
A statement from the organizers added that activists had been subjected to “multiple accounts of rape,” and “forcible penetration by a handgun," according to CNN.
The IDF wholly rejected allegations of abuse by Israeli military personnel, telling CNN that the soldiers' “orders require respectful and appropriate treatment of flotilla participants on the intercepted vessels, and there are clear and established procedures in this regard.”
“Any concrete complaints submitted to the IDF on the matter will be examined thoroughly," the IDF added in its comment to CNN.
Additionally, Israel Prison Service told CNN that the “allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis,” and that it “rejects generalized allegations aimed at portraying systematic unlawful conduct.”
Flotilla activists testify to mistreatment at the hands of Israeli forces
Mi Hoa Lee, an activist from Spain, said she was forced into the darkened container on the ship, according to a video interview included with the flotilla's statement.
"Four men started beating me in the face against the wall, and I fell down and then stood up again, again to the floor, stood up again, and they started tasering me for more than one minute," she said, pointing to her ribcage, hips and back where she said they applied the taser.
"Then they kept beating me until I almost lost my conscience," she added.
Two days with no running water
Ilaria Mancosu, an Italian activist, told Reuters the flotilla members were removed from their boats to two so-called prison ships. Those put on one of the ships suffered more violence than the other, she said. They were locked in a container and beaten by five soldiers, suffering fractures to the ribs and arms. Some had serious injuries to their eyes and ears caused by tasers.
She said they spent two days on the prison ships with no running water and used cardboard and plastic to keep warm at night, since they had no blankets and were stripped of most of their clothes. Once on land they were made to kneel for several hours and kicked and shoved if they moved or spoke. They were then taken to a prison where they were moved from room to room periodically to keep them from sleeping, she said.