The Global Sumud Flotilla says ten of its activists are in a life‑threatening condition after a five‑day dry hunger strike to protest their “unlawful imprisonment and mistreatment” at a Libyan detention site.
The negotiation team was arrested on May 24 while trying to secure safe passage for the land aid convoy to Gaza. Their detention was extended by ten days on June 2 for alleged visa violations, which the organizers deny. Without access to medical or legal aid, the convoy’s own detained medics are reportedly treating their fellow hunger strikers.
The detainees—who include Argentinian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Tunisian, US, and Uruguayan nationals—are being held near Benghazi, an area controlled by the warlord Khalifa Haftar. While Haftar’s self‑proclaimed government lacks international recognition, Italy, France, and the EU closely cooperate with his forces, funding his parallel “coast guard” and militias to act as anti‑migrant proxies on the central Mediterranean route.
