GENEVA, May 6 — The United Nations today called on Israel to immediately release two activists taken from a Gaza-bound flotilla, and demanded an investigation into “disturbing accounts” they had been severely mistreated.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, who are held in a prison in Ashkelon, were among dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Greece last Thursday.

“Israel must immediately and unconditionally release Global Sumud Flotilla members Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, who were detained in international waters and brought to Israel where they continue to be held without charge,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

“It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” he insisted.

The flotilla’s vessels set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Representatives for Avila and Abu Keshek have accused Israeli authorities of abusing the two men, who have been on hunger strike for the past six days.

Kheetan decried the “disturbing accounts of severe mistreatment”, calling for an investigation and insisting “those responsible must be brought to justice”.

“We call for an end to Israel’s use of arbitrary detention and of broadly and vaguely defined terrorism legislation, inconsistent with international human rights law,” he said.

“Israel must also end its blockade on Gaza, and allow and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian strip, in sufficient amounts,” the spokesman said. — AFP

Alice Chapman and Zak Khan say they were beaten, kicked and spat on after detention near Crete last week

Two British activists have said they were admitted to hospital after being beaten by Israeli forces who intercepted their Gaza aid flotilla last week.

Alice Chapman and Zak Khan were among 180 members of the Global Sumud flotilla detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in international waters near Crete late on Wednesday.

PARIS, May 3 — The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Iran hangs man

Iran hanged a man convicted of involvement in the killing of a security forces volunteer during anti-government protests, the judiciary said.

“Mehrab Abdollahzadeh’s death sentence was carried out this morning after completing the legal formalities,” said the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.

Gaza flotilla in court

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation appeared before an Israeli court, a rights group defending them told AFP.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila were taken to court in the city of Ashkelon, according to Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the Israeli rights group Adalah.

Israel’s Lebanon warning

Israel’s military issued new evacuation warnings in southern Lebanon for villages beyond the area it occupies, despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The warning covers more than 10 villages and towns, including several in the district of Nabatieh, which lies north of the Litani River. Israel has stationed troops south of the river.

Iran museum

Iranian authorities plan to turn a bombsite at a university in central Iran into a museum about the impact of US-Israeli strikes, an official said.

“The current damaged site will be preserved as a war museum at the university to remain a document of the country’s scientific oppression in history,” said Zafarollah Kalantari, head of Isfahan University of Technology.

Trump says US numbers in Germany to come ‘way down’

US President Donald Trump said the US would withdraw more troops from Germany than was previously announced by the Pentagon.

“We’re going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” he told reporters yesterday, without providing details.

Earlier, a NATO spokeswoman said the alliance was seeking more information on the US decision, which came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran was “humiliating” the Trump administration in negotiations.

Trump casts doubt

Trump said he would review a new Iranian peace deal but cast doubt over its prospects, as Iranian media reported Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan.

“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies said Iran had submitted a 14-point proposal. It reportedly includes ending the conflict on all fronts and enacting a new framework for the crucial Strait of Hormuz, according to Tasnim.

Three killed in Lebanon

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon yesterday killed three people in Sammaiyeh in the Tyre district.

The Israeli military said it carried out strikes dismantling “approximately 70 military structures and approximately 50 Hezbollah infrastructure sites” across southern Lebanon.

Israel damages convent

A Catholic charity condemned what it called the “deliberate act of destruction against a place of worship” after a convent was damaged by Israeli forces in Lebanon.

The Israeli military confirmed a “religious building” was damaged by troops operating in the village of Yaroun and “houses located in a religious compound” were “damaged” during an operation to “destroy terrorist infrastructure”.

French Catholic charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient said troops “destroyed” a convent belonging to the Salvatorian Sisters, a Greek-Catholic religious order the charity is affiliated with. — AFP

Global Sumud Flotilla describes interception as ‘violent raid’ while Turkey condemns it as ‘act of piracy’

Israeli forces have intercepted and detained the crews of at least 22 boats near the Greek island of Crete from a flotilla that is attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of about 58 vessels carrying people from across 70 countries, departed from Italy on Sunday.

Spokesperson says just two out of 14 Australians remain in communication, after CCTV footage showed Israeli navy boarding vessels in international waters

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The family of a Newcastle man among at least six Australians onboard boats that were intercepted by Israeli navy personnel in international waters has issued a tearful plea for his safety and lashed out at the Australian government for not intervening.

More than 50 boats set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday as part of the Global Sumud flotilla in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the Gaza Strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel.