Two brothers from Sheffield, Massachusetts, were back on American soil on Friday after taking part in a flotilla seeking to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver aid to starving Palestinians. The fleet of about 46 ships was intercepted by Israeli military forces in an operation that began Wednesday night, with both brothers saying they spent five days in an Israeli prison.
Adnaan and Tor Stumo were among hundreds of activists taking part in the Global Samud Flotilla, a mission carrying food, baby formula and medical supplies.
Interception began on Oct. 1, Tor said, when Israeli forces surrounded and blasted their boats with water cannons. Israeli military personnel began driving the vessels away from Gaza and towards Israel, where activists were later detained at the Ktzi’ot Prison.
Tor told GBH News that authorities tightly bound his wrists and led him to a prison transport van. Before entering the van, he said he was beaten by Israeli officers.
“I was punched around my stomach, back and torso and the back of my neck and spine,” Tor said. “I was slapped across the face, I lost my vision for a couple of seconds and dropped to my knees.”
While being held in the prison, Tor said he and other activists were not permitted to call attorneys and were denied necessary medication.
“There were people who needed essential medication. They denied the diabetics insulin for three and a half days,” he said. “We chanted for insulin and asked for medical care and they said to us, ‘no doctors for animals.’”
Some people did eventually receive medication, Tor said, while others did not.
“There were people who, their arms and shoulders were sprained by rough treatment by the guards,” he said. “One of our cellmates had his tooth, a huge chip taken out of it when his face was rammed against the wall.”
Activists were given a receipt for their confiscated possessions, Tor said, but their belongings were never returned. Requests for attorneys went unanswered.
“Every moment that the guards were not being observed, they were violent and they hit us,” Tor said. “I remember lying there unable to feel my hands. I couldn’t even sit upright because I would pass out again. I remember thinking, if they — the greatest ally of the U.S. — treat a U.S. citizen on a humanitarian mission this way, how much worse are they treating these Palestinian prisoners who often have no charges, men, women and children?”
The Consulate General of Israel to New England did not respond to a request for comment.
Several activists — including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg— alleged mistreatment and withholding of medical care while being detained. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has denied the claims of mistreatment as “brazen lies.”
The interception of the flotilla led to demonstrations in cities across the world.
Nadia Milleron, Adnaan and Tor’s mother, said she’s relieved.
“I’m very shaken by the whole thing,” she said. “I think I lost years of my life, but I’m just glad that they’re okay.”
Milleron heard through updates on social media that the flotilla had been intercepted and that the activists — including her sons — had been imprisoned and their belongings confiscated.
“I saw a video of the people exiting the prison transport. And I saw my kids,” Milleron told GBH News. “When they actually called me, it was incredible. I couldn’t believe they were calling.”
The interception of the flotilla comes as a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration appears to be taking hold.
Israel released more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners Monday, and more than 1,000 remain in captivity.
Twenty living hostages and four deceased hostages were returned to Israel on Monday, and another 24 are supposed to be turned over as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which also requires Israel to allow a surge of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
