France Targets Israel with 'War Crimes' Investigation Over Alleged Torture of Gaza Aid Activists

Описание: France Targets Israel with 'War Crimes' Investigation Over Alleged Torture of Gaza Aid Activists


France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) has launched a formal preliminary investigation into allegations of "war crimes" and "torture" regarding Israel's treatment of French citizens intercepted aboard a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla.

The high-stakes judicial intervention, announced on Friday, follows an official referral by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot under Article 40 of France's Code of Criminal Procedure. Barrot acted swiftly after receiving a formal report from France’s consul general in Turkey, which detailed widespread physical, psychological, and sexual abuse perpetrated against French nationals following their detention by Israeli forces last month.

The diplomatic and legal crisis stems from a May 18 incident in which the Israeli Navy intercepted the "Global Sumud Flotilla"—a multi-nation aid convoy attempting to breach the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip—while navigating international waters off the coast of Cyprus. More than 430 international activists, including over thirty French citizens, were arrested and forcibly transferred to Israel’s Ashdod Port.

Upon their deportation and subsequent return to Europe, several French activists recounted a brutal ordeal during their detention. Witnesses described being subjected to what they termed 24/7 torture, including severe beatings, deliberate exposure to extreme cold, and repeated humiliation. One female returnee alleged that she was repeatedly groped and slapped by a soldier inside a dark shipping container, leaving her terrified of imminent rape. Other detainees testified to being forced into agonizing "stress positions"—forced to kneel with their foreheads pinned to the concrete for hours at a time—while the Israeli national anthem was blasted on repeat over loudspeakers. At least two French citizens remain hospitalized in Turkey due to injuries sustained during the operation.

International outrage intensified after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, published a controversial video on his official social media channels mocking the captured activists. The footage showed dozens of bound, zip-tied, and blindfolded European citizens forced to kneel in tightly packed formations on the docks. In direct retaliation for the video and the handling of its citizens, the French government enacted a retaliatory ban, barring Ben-Gvir from entering France effective immediately.

The Israel Prison Service and the Israeli Foreign Ministry have fiercely rejected the allegations, labeling the testimonies entirely fraudulent. In a formal press statement, Israeli authorities claimed that all foreign nationals were processed strictly in accordance with international law, provided with professional medical care, and deported rapidly to maintain the integrity of the "lawful naval blockade on Gaza".

The PNAT has assigned the complex case to the Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes. Investigators will evaluate the claims under the strict legal definitions established by the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. Legal analysts note that the case marks a dramatic escalation in European judicial pushback against Israeli state actors, directly threatening to widen the diplomatic rift between Paris and Jerusalem.





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