"They wanted to kill us": Thiago Ávila recounts torture, hunger strike, and resistance after the Flotilla's kidnapping.

247 - Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, a member of the Freedom Flotilla, recounted his time detained by Israeli forces following the attack and hijacking of a vessel carrying humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. According to him, the repression was more violent than in any other international mission undertaken by the movement.

He recounts that immediately after the interception, the activists were taken to the port of Ashdod, where Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of National Security—whom Ávila calls a "war criminal"—was present. While Ben-Gvir addressed the local press, the prisoners were subjected to assaults, humiliations, and attempts at coercion.

"They already had my head crushed on the asphalt and Greta's in another corner," he reported. Documents were presented to force false confessions of crimes they never committed.

Transferred to the maximum-security prison of Ktzi'ot in the Negev desert, the activists faced brutal conditions: denial of water, food, access to toilets, and healthcare. Diabetics went three days without insulin. As an extreme form of resistance, Thiago decided to begin a thirst strike, in addition to the collective hunger strike that had already been underway since their capture. "We said we weren't going to wait for them to kill someone before they handed over the medicine," he recalls. The mobilization within the cells turned into a veritable rebellion.

Ávila further describes the routine of psychological torture: soldiers would invade the cells every hour during the early morning hours, preventing any possibility of sleep. Dogs, shotguns, and lasers were used to intimidate the prisoners. He, identified as the international organizer of the Flotilla, underwent prolonged interrogations and constant cell changes. “You can see in the soldiers' eyes what they wanted to do: kill us. They only didn't because there was international visibility.”

Despite the seriousness of the violations, Thiago emphasizes that the suffering experienced by foreigners does not compare to what Palestinians face daily within the Israeli prison system. 

“They couldn’t eliminate us, but they do this to the Palestinian people every day,” he emphasizes. Currently, more than 150 people from the second wave and six from the first wave of the Flotilla remain imprisoned, while Palestinians continue to be incarcerated en masse.

“We will continue organizing new flotillas, because peace will only come with justice. Those children who were amputated without anesthesia have the same rights as my daughter, as the daughter of every person watching us,” she stressed.

Solidarity

Thiago Ávila made a point of highlighting the importance of international solidarity and the actions of media outlets committed to the Palestinian cause. According to him, without this mobilization, the situation of the 462 participants could have been even more tragic.

“First, I wanted to send a hug to the 247 community. You have always been with the Palestinian people, always reporting on all the flotillas from the beginning, and your presence and strength made all the difference once again, folks. Literally, the lives of each of those 462 people depended on you,” Ávila stated.

According to the activist, the visibility provided by independent media and solidarity networks was crucial in preventing an even greater escalation of violence within Israeli prisons. He emphasized that international public pressure prevented detainees from being completely isolated and subjected to even more extreme conditions.