CPJ calls for humane treatment, release of press detained aboard Gaza-bound flotilla

Beirut, May 21, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the video showing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, taunting those detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla at Ashdod Port in Israel, which included at least 14 international journalists, while they were handcuffed and held in stress positions on the floor.

In the video, published on X by the minister, he can be heard yelling, “Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” while waving  a large Israeli flag over dozens of detainees forced to kneel side by side on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs and their heads lowered to the ground. Another clip shows security forces violently throwing a handcuffed activist to the ground after the activist shouts, “Free Palestine” at Ben Gvir. The minister also said the detainees should be imprisoned for “a long, long time.” 

“International humanitarian law is unequivocal: detainees — including journalists — must be protected from humiliation, intimidation, degrading treatment, and abuse,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Publicly displaying restrained detainees for political messaging raises serious concerns about dignity, due process, and the treatment of those in custody.”

CPJ has identified at least 14 members of the press from multiple nationalities aboard the vessels intercepted in international waters near the Mediterranean island of Cyprus starting on May 18, as they attempted to reach Gaza on a humanitarian mission. They include:

1. Alex Colston, American journalist, regular contributor for Zeteo and Drop Site News
2. Lautaro Rivara, Argentinian freelance investigative journalist, works for Diario Red & Canal Red
3. Jubair Islam Khan, British-Bangladeshi filmmaker owns independent video production company Film Soul LTD
4. Gijs Sanders, Dutch journalist with  BNNVARA
5. Diederick Willem Groenewoud, Dutch investigative journalist with BNNVARA
6. Andre Prasetyo Nugroho, Indonesian journalist with Tempo TV
7. Thoudy Badai Rifan Billah, Indonesian photojournalist with Republika.
8. Bambang Noroyono, Indonesian journalist with Republika
9. Rahendro Herubowo, Indonesian freelance journalist who contributes to GPCI media 
10. Simona Losito, Italian freelance investigative journalist with InsideOver.
11. Alessandro Mantovani, Italian journalist with Il Fatto Quotidian newspaper – confirmed released
12. Zainal Rashid Ahmad, Malaysian independent journalist, who runs his independent digital media platform ZRA STRIM 
13. Ignacio Ladron de Guevara Duran, Spanish journalist with EL PAÍS
14. Ümmü Gülsüm Durmuş, Turkish journalist with GZT

Following his deportation from Israel, Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani told reporters he was “taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens”.

“They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he said of his treatment by Israeli security forces.

Adalah, an Israel-based legal advocacy group whose lawyers have visited the detainees, told CPJ of widespread due process violations, physical and psychological abuse, and violence, including the repeated use of tasers and rubber bullets, against the detainees. The group said at least one journalist reported being violently beaten while in custody. 

After intercepting the Gaza bound vessels, Israeli forces brought the approximately 430 people detained to the port of the Israeli coastal city of Ashdod for deportation, as had occurred in previous attempts to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory.

CPJ calls on Israeli authorities to uphold their obligations under international law and guarantee the safety, rights, and humane treatment of all detainees, and immediately and unconditionally release all journalists currently being held.

We further urge the international community and the governments of the detained journalists’ home countries to act decisively by demanding transparency and accountability, and ensuring immediate access to legal representation and humanitarian protections. The normalization of humiliation and abuse against detainees cannot be normalized.