Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila have entered the ninth day of their hunger strike, as they remain lawlessly detained by the israeli regime — still without any formal charges against them.

On May 6th, Saif escalated his protest to a "dry" hunger strike, refusing both food and water.

This is an extreme medical emergency. Without water, the risk of permanent organ failure or death becomes imminent within 72 to 96 hours.

On today's update we share news of our comrades Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Avila's illegal kidnapping and detention, testimony from those whose boats were recently illegally intercepted, and updates from Gaza.

Yesterday, the colonial state of israel extended Saif and Thiago’s illegal detention by 2 days—until May 5th—still without any formal charges against either of them.

Today, following a visit at Shikma Prison, Adalah lawyers are sounding the alarm.

Both Saif and Thiago, who have entered their fifth day of hunger strike, are detained in isolation, and have been subjected to death threats, torture, and explicit threats to their families lives.

Thiago reports being subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours, in which he has been threatened to be “killed” or “spend 100 years in jail.

Yesterday we received confirmation that 179 of our volunteers, who were abducted by the IOF on Friday, would be released from captivity and transferred to Crete with the help of the Greek authorities.

Along with the release of those participants, came the horrifying testimonies of the harsh treatment, humiliation and beatings of our comrades that took place in Greek waters.

Late last night, the world witnessed israel’s doctrine of engineered abandonment. In a violent raid in international waters, israeli naval forces intercepted, boarded, and systematically disabled 22 unarmed civilian vessels carrying 180 of our comrades.

In today’s update: The mission prepares to expand to a dual-front challenge by land and sea. We report from the Mediterranean where our fleet is navigating increasing surveillance. We respond to the Israeli government's new attempt to sabotage our funding with sanctions. And we ground this mission in the urgent crisis in Gaza, where the targeted detention of medical leaders has reached a grim new milestone."