Tunisia Detains Gaza Aid Flotilla Activists, Bans Campaign Event

Tunisian authorities detained several pro-Palestinian activists as organizers prepared a new international humanitarian flotilla intended to challenge Israeli restrictions on Gaza and deliver aid to the territory.

The detentions occurred as preparations intensified for a maritime mission expected to involve more than 1,000 activists, including medical doctors, engineers and war crimes investigators, according to organizers.

The flotilla is planned to depart from Spain, Tunisia and Italy, accompanied by a land convoy that organizers say could draw thousands of participants.

Tunisian media reported that the National Guard’s financial crimes unit opened an investigation into suspected money laundering, fraud and misuse of funds linked to donations collected for the flotilla campaign.

The inquiry reportedly targets members of the flotilla’s steering committee, with some individuals taken into custody while authorities verify the origin and management of fundraising funds.

Activists said those detained include Wael Naouar, Jawaher Channa and Nabil Channoufi, who are affiliated with the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee and its Tunisian organizing branch.

Tunisian authorities have not publicly commented on the detentions. Organizers accused authorities of targeting activists supporting the Palestinian cause and called for the detainees to be released.

The arrests followed several disruptions to flotilla-related events in Tunis during the days leading up to the mission.

Authorities banned an event planned for Thursday that was expected to host international activists, including Brazilian campaigner Thiago Ávila, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Palestinian organizer Seif Abu Koshk of the Global March to Gaza.

Earlier in the week, activists said security forces prevented a ceremony at the port of Sidi Bou Said honoring dockworkers who supported the previous flotilla mission the year before.

Ávila’s team also said the Brazilian activist was detained on Friday at Brussels Airport while traveling from Tunis to Amsterdam to attend a meeting of the Hague Group, a coalition of states advocating legal and diplomatic measures in defense of international law.

The flotilla campaign is taking place against the backdrop of a continuing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where the population exceeds 2 million people.

The United Nations has said that hundreds of thousands of pallets of humanitarian supplies have accumulated at crossings into Gaza since a fragile ceasefire in October.

However, aid distribution remains constrained. Israel has suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations from operating in Gaza after they failed to comply with newly introduced registration rules.

Activists involved in the flotilla initiative say their mission is intended to draw attention to these restrictions and deliver humanitarian supplies directly to the enclave.