ISTANBUL - Israel said it had deported all the foreign activists seized by its forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, as the first group arrived in Turkey following global outcry over their treatment in custody.
Hundreds of activists from countries around the world were placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Turkish foreign ministry sources said 422 activists, including 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern Israel on three planes chartered by Ankara
Those deportation flights were confirmed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which said several other activists had been deported to their home countries directly.
A first group of arrivals were seen inside the VIP terminal at Istanbul airport, as a crowd of supporters carrying Palestinian flags gathered to welcome them, an AFP correspondent said.
Israeli forces "attacked us. Each of us was beaten, women and men... It's what Palestinians experience all the time," said Turkish national Bulal Kitay, after he got off the plane.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and a diplomatic backlash Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.
Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said Thursday that "all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.
"Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza," he added.
Upon arrival at Istanbul airport, one of the activists shouted "the Palestinian people are not alone!" as he emerged from the terminal.
"We've been tortured, we've been beaten, we've been arrested in international waters, but we won't give up. We will return. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea," he said to cheers from the crowd.
Adalah, the legal centre representing the flotilla members, said earlier on Thursday that the majority were "en route for deportation" from Ramon Airport in Israel's far south.
It said they had been held at Israel's Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.
A spokesman for Adalah said activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt's border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that two South Korean nationals had also been sent back to their home country and an Israeli citizen had been released in Israel.
Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.
- by Hiba Aslan with Anne Chaon at Istanbul New Airport (AFP)