Published On 6/5/2026
Today, Friday, the French authorities opened an investigation into Israel committing “torture and war crimes” against French citizens as part of the Global Resilience Flotilla that was sailing towards Gaza to break the Israeli siege.
The Office of the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor said that it opened a preliminary investigation after a referral from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 28, to investigate suspicion of committing these crimes.
The office explained that the referral was made in accordance with Article 40 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure, which obligates public officials to report suspected crimes or violations.
The office added that it entrusted the investigation to the French Central Office to Combat Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes.
On May 18, Israel attacked about 50 boats of the Global Resilience Fleet in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, carrying more than 400 activists from 44 countries, and arrested them all, despite their announcement that they were on a humanitarian mission to relieve the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
After Israel deported them to their country on May 22, 8 French activists said that they were subjected to a “violent and humiliating” experience while detained in Israel, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.
French activist Maryam Hajal (38 years old) told Anadolu Agency the details of what she said was the violence and sexual harassment she was subjected to while in detention in Israel.
She said, “One of the soldiers told me to come with me, but I refused to follow him and stopped. Then he started hitting me on the head.”
She added that another soldier grabbed her by the hair, while a soldier standing to her right dealt a strong blow with his knee to her ribs.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Cornu said, during a session in the French Parliament last Tuesday, attended by Global Resilience Fleet activists, that his country does not rule out resorting to the French judiciary regarding Israel’s mistreatment of Fleet activists.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir published a video clip showing his supervision of the harassment of activists.
These scenes sparked angry international reactions, including several countries summoning their ambassadors and representatives to protest, including Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium, and Britain.
