04.10.2025 18:27
The Global Sumud Fleet, which set sail in the Mediterranean to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters. A total of 137 activists, 36 of whom are Turkish, were detained from the ships and brought to Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight. Activist Bekir Develi recounted his experience, saying, "They made us wait in the sun for 4.5 hours in handcuffs, and for 24 hours, they didn't give us any water or bread."
The Global Sumud Fleet, which set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, was intervened by Israeli forces in international waters in the Mediterranean. A total of 137 activists, including 36 Turkish citizens, were brought to Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight after being detained in Israel.
The Turkish Airlines flight that took off from Ramon Airport near Eilat, Israel, at 14:00 landed at Istanbul Airport at 15:40. Following the intervention against the fleet, the activists who were detained from the ships were handed over to the authorities upon their return to Turkey.
"I THANK MY STATE"
One of the activists in the fleet, presenter Bekir Develi, expressed his gratitude to state officials in his first words about his experiences and recounted what happened. Speaking on CNN Türk live broadcast, Develi shared the details of the intervention and the subsequent treatment, saying, "First of all, I thank my state. Because they brought us here from a place where we shouldn't have been. Secondly, we broke the blockade. No matter how it looks from the other side, they can work on how to create reverse propaganda."
"THEY SAW THAT WE DIDN'T TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY"
We opened up to 36.8 miles. We reached there. In fact, the lights of a boat in front of us were already visible from the newspaper. If we had had a hundred boats, we would have been embracing the children on the beach today. Hopefully, this blockade will definitely be broken with a second fleet. They saw that they are not invincible. They saw that we didn't take them seriously. They handcuffed our arms behind our backs.
"THEY HANDCUFFED US BACKWARDS"
And they made us wait under the sun for 4.5 hours in those handcuffs. I'm not lying. They made all of us wait for 4.5 hours. They did this regardless of age. They kept us in prison for 24 hours. They didn't give us a glass of water. They didn't give us a bite of bread. And they treated us in a completely filthy manner. But each time, we just smiled at them to avoid degrading the dignity of Muslims.