ISLAMABAD: Pakistani humanitarian activist Saad Edhi has been released from Israeli custody and arrived in Türkiye after being detained during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, his father said on Thursday, adding that activists faced torture and sleep deprivation while in detention.
Edhi, the grandson of late Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and a member of the Edhi Foundation, was among hundreds of activists detained after Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters earlier this week.
“Saad Edhi and other activists have been released from Israeli captivity and have reached Türkiye,” Faisal Edhi, Saad’s father and chairman of the Edhi Foundation, told Arab News over the phone.
“Saad told me he was not allowed to sleep for four days, and during that time he continuously faced torture at the hands of Israeli personnel,” he added. “He said two separate teams, one during the day and another at night, would subject him to various forms of torture.”
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from southern Türkiye on May 14 in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade on Gaza. Israeli authorities said more than 400 activists aboard the flotilla were taken into custody after the vessels were intercepted and redirected to Israel.
In a video message released after his arrival in Istanbul, Edhi said activists were intercepted around 270 nautical miles away from Israel and Gaza.
“They illegally kidnapped us,” he said. “They kept us in a prison ship for three days. On the fourth day, we reached Israel, from where the deportation process began.”
He said that he hoped to return to Pakistan within two days.
The first groups of deported activists began arriving in Istanbul aboard Turkish-chartered flights on Thursday, according to AFP, where crowds waving Palestinian flags gathered to welcome them.
The activists’ release came a day after footage shared online by Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed detained flotilla participants kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground while he waved an Israeli flag and mocked them.
The video sparked international condemnation, with several European countries summoning Israeli diplomats in protest.
Pakistan also condemned on Thursday what it called the unlawful interception of the flotilla and the arbitrary detention and mistreatment of humanitarian workers, including Pakistani nationals.
The foreign office said Islamabad was making efforts through its mission in Jordan, which is accredited to Palestine, to secure the release of detained activists.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on X that Edhi had been released “as a result of our concerted efforts.”
“The detention of humanitarian workers, and their inhumane treatment by the occupying forces is deeply condemnable and totally unacceptable,” Dar wrote, while thanking the Turkish government for facilitating the activists’ arrival in Istanbul.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007 and maintains control over the territory’s entry points. During the war in Gaza, aid agencies have repeatedly warned of severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies in the enclave.
A previous flotilla attempting to reach Gaza was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe while others were detained and later deported.
