All 32 journalists detained by Israeli forces while covering the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian mission to Gaza, have now been released, according to press freedom groups.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest maritime aid convoy to date, set sail from Spain on August 31 to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s naval blockade amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. The flotilla consisted of five vessels carrying between 500 and 700 activists and journalists from over 44 countries.
The journalists aboard the FFC vessel were detained on October 8, 2025, when Israeli forces intercepted the ship and took control of it. According to Jewish Currents reporter Emily Wilder, “In the early morning of October 8, 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.” Wilder said she repeatedly identified herself as press and wore her press card throughout the incident. “At one point, one of the soldiers took my press notebook. It was later returned to me, but it had clearly been read,” she added.
Journalist Noa Avishag Schnall described severe mistreatment in a video posted on Instagram, saying she was “hung from 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.” She also reported that “the women were threatened with pepper spray” and that their cell “was awoken with threats of rape.”
The Adalah Center, a legal advocacy group for Arab minority rights in Israel that represents the journalists and activists, told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that Israeli authorities “treated the journalists accompanying the flotilla no differently than the activists,” despite their professional role. 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.”
At Free Press Alliance, we welcome the release of all detained journalists but strongly condemn their arrest and reported mistreatment. Journalists must be able to report freely on humanitarian and political events without fear of detention or violence. Restricting their work is a direct attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know.