US lawmakers call for release of detained American flotilla activists
US Senator Chris Van Hollen has called on the American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to “do his job” and protect US citizens being held in an Israeli prison after their Gaza-bound aid flotilla was intercepted this week.
“The US government says it’s number-one obligation is to protect American citizens abroad, so regardless of what they thought about the flotilla, they have a duty to look out for the safety and security of these American citizens,” Van Hollen said in a video posted on X.
US Congressman Ro Khanna has also been calling for the release of Americans detained in Israel.
Khanna said he had spoken to the sister of activist David Adler, who is being held in Israel’s southern Ketziot prison. “I spoke to his sister last night & their family is deeply anxious,” he wrote on social media, urging his safe return to the US.
Senator Bernie Sanders also expressed support for the mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla, noting that activists were bringing food to Palestinian children “starving in Gaza because of Israeli government policies”. “The United States must demand the immediate release of all detained Americans,” Sanders said.
On Friday I spoke with relatives of Americans on the Gaza aid flotilla who were being detained by Netanyahu’s government.
Ambassador Huckabee says his highest duty is to protect Americans abroad but has done virtually nothing to return them. He needs to do his job. pic.twitter.com/e8IH9VLcaE
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) October 5, 2025
Global Sumud Flotilla says dozens of detainees on hunger strike
We’ve reported that four French deputies detained by Israel during the interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla have gone on hunger strike in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Now, the flotilla says dozens of participants are refusing to be fed by Israeli forces.
In a post on social media, the flotilla posted a list of 42 people on hunger strike, representing activists from 16 different countries.
“In Gaza, starvation is not a tragedy – it’s a policy. Since October 2023, Israel has pursued a campaign of total starvation: cutting off food, water, electricity and fuel, while targeting the fields, farmers and aid convoys that keep people alive,” the group said in a statement.
“As famine spreads and 95 percent of farmland lies destroyed, dozens of Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers remain imprisoned — refusing to be fed by the same regime enforcing starvation on Palestinians.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPb571UiJSZ
Israel planning to deport dozens of flotilla activists tomorrow: Lawyers
Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinians in Israel, says the Israel Prison Service has informed the group’s lawyers that it plans to deport about 170 flotilla activists on Monday.
“Adalah attorneys made several [prison] visits today but were denied access to all participants,” the group said in a statement shared on WhatsApp.
Adalah said conditions inside the prison was “relatively stable”, but concerns around the health of activists – particularly those on hunger strike – persist.
