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Dr. Baptiste André’s shirt was still filthy when he got out of arrivals at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to a burst of cameras, microphones and questions from journalists.
The French native was one of the 11 crew members on Madleen, which is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and among the three – including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg – Who signed expulsion papers after the boat was seized on Monday by the Israeli navy before being able to reach the Gaza Strip. (A fourth person, a journalist, also signed the papers.)
The coalition aims to break the naval blocking of Israel of Gaza and to provide symbolic aid. Most of the 2.1 million people in the enclave were moved by the war, and Malnutrition is widespreadsaid the United Nations. Israel rejected the aid boat as a advertising.
During an impromptu 20 -minute press conference on Wednesday, André became visibly emotional when he referred to the courage of some of his colleagues in an Israeli prison who refused to sign deportation documents – which he said that he thought he had to sign for personal and professional reasons.
André said that the document he had signed contained allegations that he had illegally entered Israel-a false accusation, he said, because the boat was in international waters.
As the Madleen, a charity ship, was embedded and seized By Israeli naval forces in the Mediterranean, the crew said André felt a feeling of disappointment. “We were able to do 90% of our route, but we could not dock on the banks of Gaza,” he told CBC News.
“The feeling on board at the start was that of joy after several weeks of preparation,” he said. “Lots of joy, but also a lot of stress.”
‘The fear was very present’
André, who was the doctor on board, and the crew started his trip on June 1, sailing from southern Italy with a cargo of humanitarian aid. The Madleen was intended to dock in Gaza, where the crew planned to distribute the aid to the Palestinians, but its trip ended 100 miles (185 kilometers) from the Gaza coast.
It was around 3 am, local time on Monday, said André, when the crew was surrounded by Israeli drones before dozens of soldiers arrived and climb on board the boat.
Each crew member had specific tasks, and André said he ensured that everyone wore his life vests; to collect mobile phones and throw them in the water; And to collect kitchen knives that have been used to prepare meals, put them in a box and throw it over board.
He was also responsible for keeping the seizure bags which contained the crew passports, water bottles, medicines and food.
Madleen’s checks were taken up by the Israelis, and the crew was brought to Ashdod, a city of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, “against their will,” said André.
“The feeling on board at this moment was that of fear, even if we had prepared ourselves with daily training to be able to manage all the scenarios in the best possible way. But despite that, fear was very present.”
Most crew members have been expelled
Although he did not reach their destination, André said he was still considering expedition as a “success”, because the crew drew attention to the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza.
“This mission was formulated as a solidarity movement-we played our role there,” he said.
Israel began a military campaign in Gaza after being attacked by Hamas headed, who killed some 1,200 people and took around 251 hostages on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, nearly 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza health authorities, and a large part of the densely populated band has been flattened.
The Israeli government said on Thursday that six other Madleen crew members had been released and taken to Ben Gurion airport for flights to their country of origin.
Adalah lawyers, a legal center led by Palestinians in Israel, said that crew members were subject to “abuse, punitive measures and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for a certain period in isolation”.
Israeli authorities have refused to comment on their treatment. The government said he was treating the prisoners in a legal manner and investigating any allegation of abuse.
The six who were released included Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament to whom Israel had previously prevented from entering Israel and the Palestinian territories, citing support for the boycotts in the country.
The last two activists are expected to be expelled on Friday, according to Adalah.
Look | The Canadian couple plans to participate in Global March in Gaza:
A Windsor have., The couple are preparing to go to the trip to the Middle East to join a peaceful world demonstration to solidarize with the Palestinian people. Katerina Georgieva’s reports from CBC.
