Italy Places Israel's Defence Minister Katz and Senior Officials Under Investigation over Flotilla Activists
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military, police and prison officials have been placed under investigation in Italy over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists, Italian prosecutors said on Friday, Reuters reported. The move expands an investigation previously focused on Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The case concerns suspected torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage when Israeli forces intercepted small fleets of boats headed towards Gaza in 2025 and 2026, the Rome prosecutors' office said in a statement. Investigators opened the probe after complaints from 50 Italian citizens detained after two Global Sumud Flotilla missions, in September-October 2025 and April-May 2026.
Prosecutors said activists from the first mission reported beatings, injuries, death threats and insults, while those from the second reported harsher treatment, including beatings in the dark and the use of tasers and rubber bullets. Besides Katz and Ben-Gvir, prosecutors named 12 senior Israeli officials as suspects, including military chief Eyal Zamir. Prosecutors said they sent Israel a request for judicial assistance in June. Katz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (GSM, based on Reuters reporting)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 罗马斗兽场。 Photo by Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
