A Turkish court will begin proceedings on Friday against 35 Israeli political and military officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over attacks on humanitarian aid flotillas attempting to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The first hearing will take place on 23 October at Istanbul's 11th High Criminal Court, with defendants facing charges including torture, unlawful deprivation of liberty, armed robbery, hijacking of vessels, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Global Sumud Flotilla movement announced the proceedings on Tuesday, saying the case seeks to hold Israeli officials accountable for intercepting civilian aid vessels in international waters, detaining their passengers and allegedly subjecting them to violence and mistreatment.
Among those named in the indictment are Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Defence Minister Israel Katz and several senior military commanders.
The indictment was prepared in April and subsequently accepted by the court, which is examining the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Turkish authorities have already issued arrest warrants for suspects in the case and completed the necessary legal procedures to request Interpol red notices, according to the movement.
The proceedings concern Israeli military operations against flotillas attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and challenge the naval blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory.
Italian prosecutors expand investigations
The Istanbul proceedings come as Italian prosecutors have expanded a separate investigation into alleged abuses against 50 Italian civilians who participated in Global Sumud Flotilla missions in 2025 and 2026.
According to the movement, Italian prosecutors announced on 16 October that their investigation, which initially examined Ben-Gvir's suspected involvement in torture, unlawful detention, deliberate injury, looting and damage to vessels, had been expanded to include Katz, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir and 11 senior officials from the military, police and prison authorities.
Italian investigators also found that alleged abuses had been repeated during the April and May 2026 flotilla mission, with more severe methods reportedly employed, including electric shocks and rubber bullets.
The movement said judicial authorities investigating similar incidents had participated in a coordination meeting at Eurojust, the European Union's criminal justice cooperation agency, in The Hague.
Citing Italian newspaper La Repubblica, it said representatives from ten other countries attended the meeting, including Portugal, Spain, France, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Finland and Slovakia.
The developments indicate a growing international effort to investigate alleged Israeli violations against humanitarian activists attempting to reach Gaza.
The Global Sumud Flotilla movement said the legal proceedings in Turkey and Italy demonstrated that the interception of its vessels was no longer the end of the matter, but the beginning of criminal proceedings against Israeli decision-makers.
It also cited a UN investigative report issued on 9 September, which it said concluded that flotilla vessels had been unlawfully intercepted in international waters, with hundreds of participants arbitrarily arrested, forcibly transferred to Israel and detained.
Allegations of systematic violence
The Istanbul case covers alleged Israeli attacks on the vessel Conscience, its eight accompanying boats and the wider Global Sumud Flotilla.
According to the movement, evidence submitted to the court includes drone attacks on the Alma and Familia Madeira vessels near Tunisia, as well as the interception of 42 humanitarian boats carrying 462 civilian volunteers, including healthcare workers, parliamentarians, lawyers and journalists.
The movement said the evidence documented a pattern of violence, including drone attacks on civilian vessels near Malta and Tunisia, attacks on boats off Crete, forced deportations, physical assaults and humiliating searches.
Activists also reported degrading treatment in Israeli detention facilities, including Ketziot prison.
The organisation said the court proceedings represented a direct challenge to what it described as unlawful military interventions against unarmed civilians attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
Push for accountability
Lawyers Without Borders International, an organisation established in Turkey in 2016 that is supporting victims in the case, said the proceedings concerned not only the 101 victims identified in the court file but also the broader question of accountability for alleged Israeli abuses.
The organisation argued that when states use armed force against unarmed civilians attempting to deliver essential assistance to people facing hunger, those responsible throughout the chain of command must be held accountable under international law.
The Global Sumud Flotilla movement said it would continue pursuing legal action through national courts, European judicial institutions and international mechanisms.
Its planned efforts include seeking the return of confiscated vessels and submitting a request to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
The movement said its ultimate objectives were to secure accountability for those responsible for alleged abuses, recover seized ships and bring about the permanent lifting of Israel's blockade of Gaza.