Israel frees 14 journalists detained from Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla

Sulaymaniyah, October 14, 2025 —  Israeli authorities have released 14 journalists and others who had been detained, most of them for four days, after sailing aboard the Wijdan (Conscience), a vessel that was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), one of several aid convoys that have attempted to break the blockade on Gaza. 

The releases followed Israel’s detention of those aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which included at least 32 journalists, on October 1 and 2. All have since been released.

“Detaining and banning journalists undermines press freedom and obstructs independent reporting at a critical time. Journalists must be able to report freely and safely wherever news unfolds, including from conflict and war zones,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s Regional Director. “Israeli authorities must allow international journalists immediate access to Gaza now, especially now that a ceasefire is in place.” 

The journalists aboard the FFC vessel were arrested on Wednesday, October 8, 2025. Thomas Bain Becker Jr was released on Friday, while the others – Emily Wilder, Sofia Dorothy Willer, Hicham Rami, Thomas Hayes, Serhat Evin, José María Lozano Maneiro, Ali Kniss, Noa Avishaq Schnall, Fionn Macarthure, Henri Juhani Sulku, Shahidul Alam, Syafik Shukri Abdul Jalil, and Anna Liedtke – were released on Sunday, October 12, according to their lawyers and one of the journalists.

Emily Wilder told CPJ that she was reporting for Jewish Currents when “in the early morning of October 8th, the Israeli military encircled us, boarded the boat, took control of the vessel, and held us captive for 12 hours on board until we reached the port of Ashdod.”

“I identified myself as press multiple times and had my press card around my neck the entire time,” she said. “At one point, one of the soldiers took my press notebook. It was later returned to me, but it had clearly been read.”

One journalist, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal, told CPJ, “They pulled me by my hair across the port to where everybody was forced to kneel for some time. They zip-tied my hands behind my back, and my press card was on me the entire time. Later, they seized it — it was stolen from me.”

Journalist Noa Avishag Schnal appeared in a video on Instagram, visibly bruised, and described being “hung from the metal shackles on my wrists and ankles and beaten in the stomach, back, face, ear, and skull by a group of men and women guards, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airways.”

“The women were threatened with pepper spray. Our cell was awoken with threats of rape,” she said.

The Adalah Center — a legal advocacy group for Arab minority rights in Israel that is representing the detained journalists and activists — told CPJ that Israeli authorities “treated the journalists accompanying the flotilla no differently than they treated the activists,” even though the journalists were there to report on the voyage.

Adalah said that at Ashdod Port, “the authorities issued arrest and long-term entry ban orders against several journalists,” calling the actions “a serious and unlawful infringement on their right to work and a restriction on their ability to cover events in the region.”

CPJ emailed the IDF’s North America Media Desk to request comment about the detention and treatment of journalists, but didn’t get any response.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include testimony from Noa Avishag Schnal.