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Türkiye is working to ensure the return of 14 Turkish citizens detained by Israeli forces during the raid on the Global Sumud Flotilla, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said Monday.
In a post on X, Keceli said: “Thirty-six of our citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels seized by Israeli forces returned safely to our country on Oct. 4 via a special flight. Efforts are ongoing to bring the 14 citizens still held in Israel back to our country tomorrow (Oct. 7) through Jordan.”
He added that the details of the repatriation process are expected to be finalized later on Monday.
On Saturday, 36 other Turkish nationals, who had also been on the seized ships, were flown back to Türkiye by a special flight.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade, approaching Gazan waters on the evening of Oct. 1.
Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla late Wednesday in international waters, seizing its vessels and detaining more than 470 activists from over 50 countries, organizers said.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which has launched multiple civilian-led missions since 2010 to challenge Israel’s blockade, said two additional boats joined the convoy Saturday, raising the total number of vessels to 11.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza—home to nearly 2.4 million people—for nearly 18 years.
The siege has sharply restricted access to essential goods, worsening what the United Nations calls a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed over 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and rendered the enclave uninhabitable, according to Gaza health authorities and U.N. agencies.
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