On May 18, 2026, Israeli authorities arrested Alex Colston, a U.S. journalist and editor for news website Drop Site News, while aboard the Ramle, a vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla, an aid convoy attempting to break the blockade on Gaza.
He was among the flotilla participants deported to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 21, after three days and three nights in Israeli custody.
In a first-person account published by Zeteo, Colston alleged that Israeli authorities subjected flotilla participants to severe mistreatment while in custody. Reflecting on footage released by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Colston wrote that the public did not see “the torture and other abuse Israel inflicted on Global Sumud Flotilla activists beyond the camera's view.” He described the treatment of detainees as intended to humiliate and intimidate those aboard the mission.
In an interview with Democracy Now! Colston described conditions inside a detention tent where he was held. “I could hear screaming the whole time,” he said. Colston recalled seeing an injured detainee nearby and alleged that guards prevented prisoners from assisting one another. He said that “every time I would move, they would kick me” and alleged that Israeli forces “indiscriminately brutalized people in that tent.” Colston also cited reports from fellow detainees that “35 people suffered fractures to their ribs,” that “people were tased,” and that there had been “at least 12 sexual assaults” during detention.
Referring to Ben-Gvir's appearance before restrained flotilla participants, Colston said: “They call us provocateurs, or they say we're terrorists ... and yet, whenever Ben-Gvir shows up to these things, he's the one provoking us.” As a journalist covering the mission, Colston's allegations provide a firsthand account of the treatment he says detainees experienced after the flotilla's interception.
Speaking to the Columbia Journalism Review after his release, Colston described the show of force used against the flotilla, saying Israeli naval vessels circled them “like sharks” before boarding the ships. As one of the journalists aboard the mission, Colston later became a firsthand witness to the conditions of detention that he and other flotilla participants alleged included physical violence, humiliation, and abuse.
Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal rights group representing some of the detainees, told CPJ that all detainees had faced alleged abuses, including restricted access to lawyers, humiliation, and violence.
In a video published on X, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir can be heard yelling, “welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” while waving a large Israeli flag over dozens of detainees kneeling side by side on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs and their heads lowered to the ground. Another video shows security forces violently throwing a handcuffed activist to the ground after the activist shouts “free Palestine” at Ben Gvir. The minister also said the detainees should be imprisoned for “a long, long time.”
In response to an email requesting comment, the Israel Defense Forces told CPJ it “rejects allegations of abuse by IDF soldiers during the operations,” adding that any “concrete complaints submitted to the IDF on the matter will be examined thoroughly.” CPJ’s email requesting comment from the office of Ben-Gvir did not receive a response.