France, Italy condemn Ben-Gvir video of detained Gaza flotilla activists

France and Italy condemned a video in which Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, taunted activists detained after Israeli naval forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla and brought them to Ashdod port in southern Israel. The footage, posted Wednesday, showed detainees on the ground with their hands tied, and one clip captured Ben-Gvir confronting a detainee who shouted, “Free, free Palestine.”

The activists had been seized from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which organisers said carried about 430 people from more than 50 countries. At least 87 detainees had begun a hunger strike in protest, adding a detention issue to what began as a maritime confrontation in the Mediterranean Sea. The episode quickly widened beyond the port, with European governments focused not only on the interception itself but on how the detainees were being held and publicly depicted.

Italy and France summoned Israeli envoys over the video. Italy demanded an apology and the immediate release of any Italian citizens among the detained activists, while French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot criticised the treatment of the flotilla participants. The response reflected growing unease in European capitals over the handling of people taken into Israeli custody during the Gaza conflict, especially when images of restraint and humiliation circulate publicly.

The backlash also landed inside Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly scolded Ben-Gvir, saying his conduct was not in line with Israel’s values and norms. Israeli officials said the release of the video had triggered a diplomatic backlash, underscoring how a minister’s social media post became a foreign policy problem almost immediately.

The flotilla had set out to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, a restriction that activists and supporters describe as illegal and rooted in humanitarian concerns, while Israel says the blockade is lawful. That underlying dispute has long shaped international criticism of Israel’s Gaza policy, but the latest incident shifted attention to a narrower question with broader consequences: how detained activists are treated, filmed and displayed once they are in Israeli custody.