On May 18, 2026, Israeli authorities arrested Gijs Sanders, a journalist with Dutch broadcaster BNNVARA while aboard the Ramle, a vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla, an aid convoy attempting to break the blockade on Gaza.
In an interview on BNNVARA's late-night current affairs program Pauw & De Wit, the Dutch journalist alleged that flotilla participants were subjected to both physical abuse and psychological mistreatment while in Israeli custody. "I was hit too, just like everyone else," he said, alleging that guards punched him during transfers even after he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist. Sanders added that "the main part of what we experienced was psychological torture," describing repeated transfers, severe overcrowding, and confinement in a steel cage holding dozens of detainees.
He was among the flotilla participants deported to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 21, after three days and three nights in Israeli custody.
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.