Sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported that the activists departed from Ramon Airport in southern Israel aboard special flights to Istanbul.

The evacuation was coordinated by officials from the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to the Anadolu Agency.

The activists had previously been transferred from Ketziot Prison, located in the Negev Desert, where they had been held since Monday’s Israeli attack on the flotilla’s vessels in international waters of the Mediterranean.

Israel intercepted a total of 50 boats carrying 428 activists from 44 countries on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip and denounce the blockade imposed on the enclave.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara worked with the relevant institutions to ensure the safety and safe return of its citizens and other participants in the mission.

The Israeli operation provoked widespread international reactions, especially after the release of a video published by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showing activists being mistreated.

Several European countries, including Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, summoned Israeli diplomatic representatives to express their protest over the incident.

This situation unfolds amid a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where more than two million Palestinians face severe shortages of food, medicine, and basic services as a result of the Israeli offensive and the ongoing blockade of the territory.

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