Zionists Release Saif Abukeshek, Who Will Rejoin the Global Sumud Flotilla
Saif Abukeshek, one of the leaders of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2026 voyage, is set to resume the mission to break the Gaza blockade in Palestine via Turkey. Saif emphasised that he will not reduce the intensity of the civilian struggle to ensure the opening of humanitarian aid routes for the people of Gaza, who remain under occupation and the genocide of the Zionist Israeli regime.
Saif made this statement after arriving in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday (10/5/2026). “I arrived in Barcelona just to pack my suitcase to rejoin my comrades who are already waiting in Turkey,” Saif said via the Global Sumud Flotilla’s YouTube account, as quoted by Republika from Marmaris, Turkey, on Monday (11/5/2026).
Saif arrived in Spain after being deported by Zionist Israel to Greece on Sunday (10/5/2026). He was deported after being detained by the occupation regime in Palestinian territory at Shikma prison since Thursday (30/4/2026). During his detention, Saif experienced various forms of physical and psychological torture, including death threats and a 100-year prison sentence.
Saif was captured by Zionist soldiers after the Israeli navy attacked and abducted 22 ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian armada while crossing international waters near Crete, Greece, in the early hours of Wednesday (29/4/2026). The attack and abduction by Zionist soldiers occurred approximately 1,000 kilometres (km) from Gaza’s waters. As many as 178 volunteers and humanitarian activists participating in the voyage experienced abduction and violence on board during the attack.
Saif was one of the leaders in that humanitarian voyage. However, the occupation soldiers only detained Saif along with his colleague Thiago Avila, who was also a leader of the 56-armada mission. Saif and Thiago were taken to the occupied Palestinian territory for detention and forced interrogation every day for eight hours. Saif and Thiago were chained at the ankles and accused of aiding terrorism, as well as helping the Zionists’ enemies in Palestine.
Zionist Israel also did not allow Saif and Thiago to sleep, as during their detention in the cell, the occupation soldiers confined them in a brightly lit cell with cold air temperature. During their detention, Saif and Thiago went on hunger and thirst strike. On Sunday (10/5/2026), Zionist Israel released both after massive international pressure demanding the release of the two humanitarian activists.
Saif, a Palestinian activist born in Nablus, was released and subsequently deported to Spain based on his passport. Meanwhile, Thiago was deported to his home country in Brazil via land route to Egypt. Upon arriving in Spain, Saif said that what he and Thiago experienced during the abduction and detention was better than the fate suffered by the people in Palestine, especially in Gaza. He stated that the suffering of the Palestinian people due to Zionist Israeli occupation must be fought to the end.
“What we are doing, and what we have experienced so far, is so that the world knows what is happening, what our brothers and sisters in Palestine are experiencing,” Saif said. “We want the world to see what is happening in Palestine, which is far worse than what we have experienced,” he added. Saif revealed that during his detention by Zionist Israel in solitary confinement, he increasingly understood that the suffering experienced by Palestinian prisoners is far worse.
“We saw and heard during our detention that thousands of Palestinians detained by the Israeli occupation regime experience things much worse than what we went through,” Saif said. “They (the Palestinian detainees) are left in continuous torture without protection, raped during detention. I heard every day the screams of torture carried out by agents and military intelligence of the Israeli regime,” Saif continued.
Therefore, Saif emphasised that the world must know. “Our priority is to carry out humanitarian actions. We must continue to defend human rights by not continuously granting impunity to human rights-violating regimes,” Saif said.
In Marmaris, Turkey, observations indicate that preparations for the continuation of the Global Sumud Flotilla mission to sail and break the Gaza blockade are ongoing. Currently, at the Albatros Dock in Marmaris, there are at least 57 Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian ships that will continue the mission to deliver aid to Gaza residents. Around 500 activists and volunteers from at least 40 countries have gathered, awaiting when the voyage carrying food, medicine, clean water, and baby needs will resume.
From information received, the volunteers and activists preparing to continue the voyage from Marmaris have already loaded aid logistics onto the ships that will sail. It is estimated that the continuation of the voyage will be determined on 13 May. From Indonesia, at least six representatives from the Global Peace Convoy Indonesia are planned to join the voyage to break the Gaza blockade.