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An Israeli advocacy group for Palestinians, Adalah, said on Saturday that it was informed by Israeli security authorities of plans to release two activists of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
In a statement, Adalah said Israel's internal security service Shin Bet informed its legal team that Brazilian national Thiago de Avila and Spanish activist of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek will be released later in the day.
The Israeli authorities would then transfer Avila and Abukeshek to immigration authorities, where they would remain in custody until their deportation, it added.
The pair were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.
“Today, the Shabak Israeli intelligence agency informed Adalah's legal team that Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists and leaders Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek would be released from Israeli detention today, Saturday,” the rights group said in a statement.
“They will be handed to Israel's immigration authorities later today and kept in custody pending their deportation,” it added.
Adalah said it was closely monitoring developments “to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days.”
On Tuesday, an Israeli court had extended the pair's detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.
The lawyers then filed an appeal against their continued detention, but it was rejected by a district court on Wednesday.
Spain, Brazil and the United Nations had all called for their swift release.
Avila and Abu Keshek “have been held unlawfully by Israel for over a week after being taken into Israeli detention,” Adalah said on Saturday.
“Throughout their detention, they were held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission,” it added.
Both Avila and Abu Keshek had been on hunger strike while in detention, Adalah said, adding that Abu Keshek had “escalated to refusing water on the evening of May 5.”
Israeli authorities have previously rejected allegations of abuse but have filed no charges against the men.
Adalah previously said authorities had accused the pair of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization."
Israeli forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla on April 30 near the Greek island of Crete, some 600 nautical miles from the blockade-ravaged enclave of Gaza.
The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing over 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
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