Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday confirmed the release of Saad Edhi, along with other aid workers detained by Israeli security forces after the interception of the Global Sumud flotilla.
On Monday, Israeli forces arrested Saad along with other volunteers after intercepting the Global Sumud flotilla, which was carrying humanitarian aid, including medicine and food, for victims in Gaza.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that thanks to our concerted efforts, Saad Edhi, who was on board the Global Sumud flotilla, was released after being illegally detained by the Israeli occupation forces,” FM Dar said in a post on X.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that thanks to our concerted efforts, Mr. Saad Edhi, who was on board the Global Sumud flotilla, was released after being illegally detained by the Israeli occupying forces. He and other detained aid workers were unharmed…
-Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) May 21, 2026
He added that other detained aid workers had also been released and arrived safely in Istanbul, while thanking Turkish authorities for facilitating their return.
“Alhamdulillah, I once again express my sincere gratitude to the Turkish government for ensuring his safe return to Istanbul,” he said.
Condemning the detention, the Deputy Prime Minister described the treatment of aid workers as unacceptable and reiterated Pakistan’s continued support for the Palestinian people.
“Pakistan has provided and will continue to provide unequivocal support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters, InshaAllah,” he said.
Edhi Foundation Chairman Faisal Edhi earlier said his son’s last contact was with his mother during the Global Sumud Flotilla mission, adding that he informed her that it would be his last call.
Speaking on a program’At the center of the stageFaisal said Saad told his mother during the call that he would not be able to make contact afterward.
“He told his mother that this was my last call, Israeli forces took us away and after that I won’t be able to contact you anymore,” he said.
He added that all individuals on board the flotilla were volunteers and that aid, including food and medicine, was collected through donations.
Faisal further said that medical teams in Gaza were allegedly forced to carry out surgeries without anesthesia.
He also claimed that women and young people were victims of violence during the incident and said Israeli forces had long maintained what he called a “fascist attitude.”
Referring to the situation in Gaza, he said the territory had been under siege for months, with more than 1.9 million people apparently trapped and limited information emanating from the region.
The Foreign Ministry also condemned the “illegal interception” of the Global Sumud flotilla in international waters and called for the immediate release of all detained activists.
This is the second such incident in less than a month. Last month, former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was part of a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla, was also arrested along with other activists after Israeli forces intercepted ships carrying aid workers.
Turkey plans special flights to bring back activists
Turkey was planning special flights from Israel to transport its citizens and some third-country activists who joined a global aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces as they tried to break the blockade of Gaza, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
Küresel Sumud Filosu’na gerçekleştirilen hukuka aykırı müdahale sonucunda alıkonulan vatandaşlarımızın güvenliğini e ülkemize sağ salim dönüşlerini sağlamak için ilgili tüm kurumlarımızla birlikte çalışıyoruz.
Bugün düzenleyeceğimiz özel uçak seferleriyle vatandaşlarımızı ve…
– Hakan Fidan (@HakanFidan) May 21, 2026
Fidan said on X that all Turkish institutions were working to ensure the security and safe return of Turkish nationals.
Diffuser NTV separately said Turkish Airlines had sent three planes to Israel for repatriations.
Gaza flotilla activists who were arrested by Israel and then tackled to the ground as Israel’s far-right police minister taunted them have been released from prison and would be deported to Turkey today, officials said.
The activists were arrested at a southern Israeli port after the Israeli navy intercepted their protest flotilla in international waters. Their treatment by police under the leadership of Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked international outcry and a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu’s government, transportation chief Miri Regev, have released campaign videos of themselves visiting the port and lambasting protesters, antics that are attracting attention in the run-up to possible snap elections in Israel.
Flotilla organizers said they aimed to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by providing humanitarian aid, aid that aid agencies say is still insufficient despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in effect since October 2025, which includes guarantees of increased aid.
The flotilla left southern Turkey this week before being intercepted on Wednesday. Previous flotillas, including the one carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were also intercepted by Israel, and participants were subsequently expelled.
In a statement, Israeli rights group Adalah said the approximately 430 activists had been released from prison in southern Israel and would be deported via Ramon airport, near Eilat on the Red Sea.
Learn more: Israeli forces arrest Saad Edhi and other volunteers after intercepting Global Sumud flotilla
Spain’s foreign minister said his diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 members of the Spanish flotilla would leave Israel at 3 p.m. local time (1200 GMT).
Activists’ taunts on the eve of Israeli elections
Ben-Gvir’s video shows police forcing an activist to the ground after she chanted “free and free Palestine.”
The video also shows dozens of detained activists kneeling in rows, with their hands tied behind their backs, in what “appears to be” an outdoor Israeli port facility. In the background, soldiers armed with long guns can be seen patrolling the area aboard a military ship.
The Israeli Navy escorts ships from the global Sumud flotilla to the port of Ashdod in southern Israel. Photo: REUTERS
During Israel’s intensified military offensive against Gaza since October 2023, Israeli troops have frequently lined up detained Palestinians on the ground with their hands tied.
“Look at them now. See what they look like now, not heroes or anything,” Ben-Gvir says in the video as he walks past the activists carrying a large Israeli flag.
Read also: UN special rapporteur urges Mediterranean states to protect global Sumud flotilla
Posting her own video at the Ashdod port, transport chief Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu’s political party, said: “This is what should be done to the supporters of terrorism who came to break the siege of Gaza.”
Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, said Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israeli values and standards.” The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said he had “betrayed the dignity of his nation”.
Ben-Gvir’s political base includes some of Israel’s most nationalist voters, a bloc that Netanyahu’s Likud party has tried in the past to woo ahead of national elections, the next of which is scheduled to take place on October 27.
This week, Israel moved closer to a snap election after lawmakers gave the first green light to dissolving parliament, with opinion polls showing Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since Hamas attacks in 2023.
International outcry with the summoning of Israeli envoys
The arrest and mockery of the activists led France, Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands to summon Israel’s top diplomats to their countries.
Canada and Spain are among the countries that have imposed sanctions on Ben Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing allegations that they incited violence against Palestinians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that whatever one thinks of the flotilla, “our compatriots who participate in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible.”
