Human Rights Center Reveals 'Endurance Fleet' Activists Face Death Threats in Occupation Prisons

The Adalah Legal Center revealed shocking details regarding the detention conditions of global Endurance Fleet activists, Brazilian Thiago de Avila and Spanish Seif Abu Kashk, inside Israeli occupation prisons. The center confirmed that the activists are subjected to direct death threats and severe mistreatment aimed at undermining their resolve and criminalizing their humanitarian activities.\n\nThese details emerged following a legal visit by lawyers Hadeel Abu Saleh and Lubna Touma to Shikma Prison, where the two activists are held in tragic detention conditions. Legal sources reported that the detainees entered their sixth day of an open hunger strike, consuming only water, to express their rejection of the illegal abduction they experienced in international waters.\n\nThe lawyers quoted Brazilian activist de Avila as saying that he underwent marathon interrogation sessions, each lasting about eight continuous hours. During these interrogations, occupation officers explicitly threatened him with physical liquidation or a century-long prison sentence, in an attempt to intimidate him and force him to retract his solidarity stances.\n\nThe two activists face a policy of complete isolation in cells lacking the most basic human necessities, where strong, continuous lighting is directed at them around the clock to prevent them from sleeping. This practice is considered a form of systematic psychological torture used by the Israeli Prison Service to cause sensory disturbances and severe physical and psychological exhaustion for detainees.\n\nIn addition to sleep deprivation, the activists are held in a facility characterized by extreme cold, which exacerbates the suffering of the hunger strike and physical weakness. Occupation authorities also permanently blindfold them when they are moved outside their cells, a procedure applied even during routine medical examinations inside the detention center.\n\nAdalah Center stressed that blindfolding detainees during medical examinations constitutes a blatant violation of medical ethics and international conventions. The center clarified that the nature of the investigations, which focused on the Endurance Fleet, proves that the purpose of the arrest is to intimidate international solidarity activists and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the besieged Gaza Strip.\n\nIn its statement, the human rights center demanded the immediate and unconditional release of de Avila and Abu Kashk, holding the occupation authorities fully responsible for their lives. The statement indicated that the continuation of these repressive measures reflects the occupation's insistence on persecuting anyone who tries to shed light on the humanitarian suffering in the Palestinian territories.\n\nIn a related context, the Israeli Ashkelon court decided to extend the detention period of the activists for two additional days under the pretext of completing investigations. This extension comes despite reports of Spanish activist Seif Abu Kashk being subjected to systematic torture since his arrest, according to statements issued by the global Endurance Fleet administration.\n\nThe occupation army carried out a piracy operation in international waters off the coast of Crete last Wednesday evening, targeting the fleet's boats heading to Gaza. The operation resulted in the detention of a large number of activists who were carrying a message of solidarity and humanity to break the siege imposed on the Strip for many years.\n\nStatistics issued by the fleet organizers indicate that the mission included 345 participants from 39 different countries, including public figures and Turkish citizens. Occupation forces managed to seize 21 boats and detain about 175 activists, while the remaining ships were forced to return to Greek territorial waters.\n\nThis journey is the second attempt by the "Global Endurance Fleet" to break the siege, after a previous attempt in September 2025 also ended with an Israeli military attack. These repeated initiatives confirm the international civil society's insistence on challenging Israeli policies that impose collective punishment on the residents of the Gaza Strip.\n\nThe Gaza Strip has been suffering from a suffocating siege imposed by the occupation authorities since 2007, leading to a catastrophic deterioration in all aspects of basic life. This suffering has doubled with the ongoing war of extermination that has destroyed infrastructure and homes, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people without shelter or medical services.\n\nThe targeting of international solidarity activists with torture and death threats places the international community before its legal and moral responsibilities to protect activists. Human rights sources confirm that the silence of international institutions regarding these violations encourages the occupation to continue violating international humanitarian law with impunity.\n\nFinally, the fate of the Endurance Fleet activists remains dependent on the extent of international pressure that can be exerted on the occupation government to ensure their safety and release. Solidarity activities continue in several world capitals to demand an end to the abuse of activists and the opening of crossings for urgent humanitarian aid to the residents of the Strip.\n\nInterrogators issued explicit threats to activist de Avila, stating that he would either be killed or spend 100 years in prison.