SA flotilla activists recount alleged torture under Israeli military detention

As activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla are reunited with their families, some women on the mission have recalled the alleged torture and dehumanising conditions they endured under Israeli military detention.

The group of six detainees returned to a heroes’ welcome at the O.R. Tambo International Airport today after being captured while sailing on the Mediterranean Sea.

READ: Flotilla activists return to hero's welcome at OR Tambo after Israeli detention

They were part of a larger group of activists from across the globe delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Their boats were intercepted by Israeli forces last week, and the activists were detained in jails in Ashdod.

Some activists who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla believe they were treated more harshly because they are South African citizens.

Fatima Hendricks and Zaheera Sooma were two of the four women on the mission.

Soomaalleges their hijabs were forcibly removed by Israeli soldiers.

“Fatima and myself, both, our hijab was forcibly removed off our head when other Muslim women, their hijabs were not removed off their head. Both of us were forced behind a screen, our head pushed against a wall and completely stripped naked in front of IOF soldiers. This did not happen to other women,” Sooma said.

Sooma claims the ill-treatment began when the soldiers saw their South African passports. South Africa was the first country to take Israel to the International Court of Justice over its alleged genocide in Gaza.