Israel will release two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla from detention Saturday, then hand them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation, said the rights group representing them.

“Today, the [Shin Bet] intelligence agency informed Adalah’s legal team that Global Sumud Flotilla activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released from Israeli detention today, Saturday 9 May 2026,” the rights group Adalah said in a statement, adding the pair “will be handed to Israel’s immigration authorities later today and kept in custody pending their deportation.”

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were brought to Israel for questioning last week after their flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli Navy in international waters off Greece.

Israel has accused both individuals of being affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group Washington has said is “clandestinely controlled by Hamas,” referring to the Palestinian terror group. The PCPA is sanctioned by Israel and the US.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was the second initiative in a year aiming to break an Israeli naval blockade on war-ravaged Gaza, which rights groups say has suffered shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion........

© The Times of Israel