WorldForeign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is calling for Israeli officials responsible for "appalling abuse" of Canadian activists to be held accountable, after its forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla earlier this week and detained hundreds of participants in the aid effort.Activists say they were beaten and subject to mistreatment, which Israel deniesSara Jabakhanji · CBC News · Posted: May 22, 2026 9:08 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, seen at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on Friday, has criticized Israeli authorities responsible for 'appalling' and 'egregious' abuse of Canadian activists participating in this week's Gaza aid flotilla. (TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson/Reuters)Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is calling for Israeli officials responsible for "appalling abuse" of Canadian activists to be held accountable, after its forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla earlier this week and detained hundreds of participants in the aid effort."I have just received information from my officials which details the appalling abuse of Canadians who were detained in Israel," the minister said in a post on X on Friday. "Canada unequivocally condemns the grave mistreatment of Canadians in Israel." According to Global Sumud Canada, 12 Canadian citizens were among the participants on the latest flotilla effort aiming to break ​Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. Anand said they arrived in Turkey after being deported from Israel on Thursday."Global Affairs consular officials on the ground are ensuring that they receive urgent medical care as required so that they can return home as soon as possible."Canadian officials’ latest condemnation marked an unusually sharp rebuke of a close ally. Anand, who is in attendance at a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on Friday, had directed Canadian officials to summon Israel's ambassador after far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted video of himself lambasting protesters who have been detained in what appeared to be an outdoor Israeli port facility. WATCH | Activists say they were beaten, subject to 'systemically dehumanizing' treatment:12 Canadian activists on aid flotilla deported to Turkey by IsraelMay 21|Duration 1:10Twelve Canadians were among hundreds of flotilla activists deported by Israel today after spending a night in an Israeli prison. Activists from the flotilla say they were beaten and describe their treatment as systematically dehumanizing. Israel hasn't commented on the allegations, but says it used non-lethal force when it detained the activists.Dozens of activists were seen kneeling in rows with their hands ‌zip-tied behind their backs, in the released videos. Soldiers are in the background, armed with long guns as they appeared to patrol the area from aboard a military vessel. "Those responsible for this egregious abuse must be held accountable," Anand said Friday, adding that officials will provide more information as it becomes available.The Associated Press said some of the activists who landed in Istanbul on Thursday evening appeared to be limping. Italian lawmaker Dario Carotenuto and Italian newspaper journalist Alessandro Mantovani both said they had been beaten and mistreated. A spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service told The Associated Press that the allegations were "false and entirely without factual basis."Adrien Jouan, an activist from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who was detained by Israeli forces after their vessels were intercepted in international waters in the Mediterranean, gestures as he shows his bruises and injuries following his arrival at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday. (Gaza Freedom Flotilla/Reuters)On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney called Israel's treatment of flotilla members "abominable" and "unacceptable."Canada has gradually hardened its line on Israel under Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party and became prime minister in March 2025. Carney announced last September that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel. Israel deports all Gaza flotilla activists after outcry over their detentionIsrael's treatment of detained Gaza flotilla members is 'abominable,' Carney saysThe Israeli Foreign Ministry said Thursday in a statement that "all foreign activists" from the flotilla had been deported.Israel has called the flotilla "a PR stunt at the service of Hamas" with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a symbolic amount of aid.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he ordered the activists' deportation "as soon as possible" and rebuked Ben-Gvir over the video. Netanyahu said although Israel has every right to stop "provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters," Ben-Gvir's treatment of the activists was "not in line with Israel's values and norms."Ben-Gvir was sanctioned by Canada last year, along with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for "extremist rhetoric" and for repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Both are banned from travelling to the country.WATCH | Israeli ambassador summoned over incident:Canada summons Israeli ambassador over video of minister taunting activistsMay 20|Duration 2:12Canada is summoning Israel's ambassador over a video showing the treatment of roughly 430 protesters detained by Israeli authorities on May 18. Twelve Canadians are among the group. France, Italy and the Netherlands are among several countries doing the same after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video taunting and threatening detainees, actions which Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand called 'absolutely unacceptable.'Ontario Liberal MP Salma Zahid said in a statement shared online that Canada should impose broad-based sanctions against the Netanyahu government due to Ben-Gvir remaining in cabinet."It is time for Canada to go further and impose strong, broad-based sanctions on the Netanyahu government. Clearly, Netanyahu supports and endorses his Minister's violent and illegal behaviour," she wrote."Canada's support for human rights and international law must be backed by action."Israeli forces fired shots at Gaza aid flotilla vessels, video showsCanadians among activists detained on Gaza flotilla after Israeli interceptionIsrael has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, according to its tallies.Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it's intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself.Israel's retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council that countries are right to be outraged at how flotilla activists from their countries were treated – but he said what Ben-Gvir did "is the tip of the iceberg" of how Israel treats Palestinian prisoners. Activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla are carried on wheel stretchers upon their arrival at Istanbul Airport on Thursday. (Emrah Gurel/The Associated Press)Dozens of boats departed from the Turkish port of Marmaris on May 14, as part of a regrouped flotilla effort after Israel stopped some 20 boats setting sail from Spain to Gaza near the southern Greek island of Crete on April 30, forcing most of its activists to disembark. Israeli forces began stopping the boats about 268 kilometres from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla's website. Last year, Israeli authorities blocked a similar attempt involving roughly 500 activists.Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.ABOUT THE AUTHORSara Jabakhanji is a Toronto-based senior writer assigned to cover news developments in the Middle East. She has worked in CBC bureaus in Ottawa, London and Toronto. You can reach her at sara.jabakhanji@cbc.ca.With files from The Canadian Press, Reuters and The Associated Press