British activist Katy Davidson, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla that attempted to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, has described the moments of her detention by Israeli forces in international waters, saying detainees were “treated like animals” in a makeshift prison built from shipping containers, Anadolu reports.
Speaking to an Anadolu correspondent in Istanbul on Saturday, Davidson recounted the interception of her small vessel, which carried only six people, by Israeli forces.
“We had an interception which was pretty scary,” Davidson said. “It took quite a lot of time. It included drones with bright spotlights on us, and then a huge frigate came up alongside our boat.”
She explained that after the initial vessel disappeared, the activists believed they had escaped, only to be approached by another boat from behind. “We were four days away from Italy, from Sicily. We did not expect it,” she said.
While the treatment on the boat was “quite firm, but decent,” Davidson described dramatically different conditions upon transfer to a detention facility. “As soon as we got to this floating prison, which blew our mind, we were taken away on a rib, and they treated us like animals,” she said.
According to Davidson, detainees were held in a makeshift prison constructed from shipping containers surrounded by barbed razor wire, with armed guards patrolling walkways. She reported overcrowded conditions, with more than 60 people held in 40-foot shipping containers, and said the total number of detainees reached 181.
READ: 31 activists injured during Israeli interception of Gaza-bound aid flotilla: Global Sumud
“We were on foam mattresses that were soaking up water. At night, sometimes they would spray water for it to soak into the people’s mattresses,” she said, adding that detainees were given only bread and water and that guards were “violent, aggressive, and manipulative.”
Davidson expressed particular concern for two fellow activists, identified as Saif (Saif Abu Keshek) and Tiago, noting that Saif holds Palestinian identification and that the group refused to leave their vessel until they could confirm the pair’s safety. “We know how vulnerable the Palestinians are in the hands of the Israelis,” she said.
The activists were eventually told they could leave or face transfer to prison in Israel, Davidson said.
The Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla was intercepted on Thursday near a Greek island, approximately 600 nautical miles from its destination, the blockaded Gaza enclave.
The flotilla’s first ships departed Barcelona on April 12, while the main fleet set sail from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26, aiming to break Israel’s years-long blockade of Gaza.
A total of 59 activists from various countries, including 18 Turkish nationals, arrived in Türkiye late Friday aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from the Greek island of Crete, officials confirmed.
Davidson called on the international community to take action. “Everybody stand up because this isn’t just going to stop in Palestine, this is going to go worldwide,” she said.
READ: Israeli navy intercepts Global Sumud Flotilla as it approaches Gaza to break siege
