Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday confirmed the release of Saad Edhi along with other humanitarian workers detained by Israeli security forces following the interception of the global Sumud flotilla.
On Monday, Israeli forces detained Saad along with other volunteers after intercepting the global Sumud Flotilla, which was carrying humanitarian aid, including medicine and food, to victims in Gaza.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that as a result of our joint efforts, Saad Edhi, who was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, has been released after being illegally detained by Israeli occupation forces,” FM Dar said in a post on X.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Mr. Saad Edhi, who was on board the Global Sumud Flotilla, has been released after being illegally detained by Israeli occupation forces, as a result of our joint efforts. He, along with other detained humanitarian workers, must have…
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) 21 May 2026
He added that other detained humanitarian workers had also been released and had arrived safely in Istanbul, while thanking the Turkish authorities for facilitating their return.
“Alhamdulillah, I once again convey my heartfelt gratitude to the Türkiye government for ensuring his safe return to Istanbul,” he said.
Condemning the detention, the Deputy Prime Minister described the treatment of humanitarian workers as unacceptable and reiterated Pakistan’s continued support for the Palestinian people.
“Pakistan has been and will continue to provide unequivocal support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters, InshaAllah,” he said.
Edhi Foundation chairman Faisal Edhi said earlier that his son’s last contact was with his mother during the Global Sumud Flotilla mission, adding that he had informed her that it would be his last call.
Talking about a program’Center Stage’Faisal said Saad had told his mother during the call that he would not be able to make contact again after that.
“He told his mother that this is my last call, Israeli forces have abducted us and after this I will not be able to contact you again,” he said.
He added that all people on board the flotilla were volunteers and that the aid, including food and medicine, had been collected through donations.
Faisal further said that medical teams in Gaza were reportedly forced to perform operations without anesthesia.
He also claimed that women and young people were subjected to violence during the incident and said that Israeli forces had long maintained what he described as a “fascist attitude”.
Referring to the situation in Gaza, he said the territory had been under siege for months, with more than 1.9 million people reportedly trapped and limited information emerging from the area.
The State Department had also condemned the “illegal interception” of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and called for the immediate release of all detained activists.
This comes as the second such incident in less than a month. Last month, former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was part of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, was also detained along with other activists after Israeli forces intercepted vessels carrying humanitarian workers.
Turkiye plans special flights to bring activists back
Turkiye planned special flights from Israel to fly out its citizens and some activists from third countries who joined a global aid flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces while trying to break the Gaza blockade, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
Küresel Sumud Filosu’na realized as a result of the hukuka irrazis intervention alıkonulan citizenlarızlarımız sekıfını ve turkışme sağ sağ salim parışlarını samakların iğin tüm kurumlarışmızızil
Bugung düzenleyeceğimiz özel väkar sefeririley citizensarımızlarımız ve…
— Hakan Fidan (@HakanFidan) 21 May 2026
Fidan said on X that all Turkish institutions were working to ensure the safety and safe return of Turkish citizens.
Broadcaster NTV separately said Turkish Airlines has sent three planes to Israel for repatriations.
Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel and later pinned to the ground to taunt Israel’s far-right police minister were released from prison and would be deported to Turkiye today, officials said.
The activists were arrested in a port in southern Israel after the Israeli navy intercepted their protest flotilla in international waters. Their treatment of police officers under Itamar Ben-Gvir’s leadership drew international outcry and a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu’s government, transport chief Miri Regev, posted campaign-style videos of themselves visiting the port and paralyzing the protesters, capturing attention ahead of potential early elections in Israel.
Flotilla organizers said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid, something aid agencies say is still in short supply despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.
The flotilla departed from southern Turkiye this week before it was intercepted on Wednesday. Previous flotillas, including one with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were also intercepted by Israel, with the participants later deported.
In a statement, the Israeli rights group Adalah said the estimated 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel and would be deported via Ramon airport near Eilat on the Red Sea.
Read more: Israeli forces detain Saad Edhi, other volunteers after intercepting Global Sumud Flotilla
Spain’s foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that around 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart Israel at 15:00 local time (1200 GMT).
Jeering by activists comes ahead of Israeli election
Ben-Gvir’s video showed officers forcing an activist to the ground after she shouted “Free, free Palestine”.
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows with their hands zipped behind their backs in what appears to be an outdoor Israeli port facility. In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area from aboard a military vessel.
The Israeli Navy escorts ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Ashdod Port, in southern Israel. Photo: REUTERS
During Israel’s two-year intensified military offensive in Gaza since October 2023, Israeli troops often lined up detained Palestinians on the ground with their hands tied.
“Look at them now. Look how they look now, not heroes and nothing,” Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks past the activists while carrying a large Israeli flag.
Read also: The UN Special Rapporteur urges Mediterranean states to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla
Transport chief Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu’s political party, said in his own video at the port of Ashdod: “This is what must be done against the supporters of terror who came to break the siege of Gaza.”
Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, said Ben-Gvir’s behavior was “inconsistent with Israel’s values and norms”. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he “betrayed the dignity of his nation”.
Ben-Gvir’s political base includes some of Israel’s most nationalist voters, a bloc that Netanyahu’s Likud party has tried to woo in the past ahead of national elections, the next of which is due to take place on October 27.
This week, Israel edged closer to a snap election after lawmakers gave the first nod to dissolving parliament, with polls showing Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since Hamas attacks in 2023.
International outcry with Israeli envoys summoned
The detention and mockery of the activists prompted France, Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands to summon top Israeli diplomats to their countries.
Canada and Spain are among the countries that have imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing allegations that they encouraged violence against Palestinians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that whatever one thinks of the flotilla, “our countrymen who take part in it must be treated with respect and released as soon as possible.”
