May 24, 2026 | 08:40 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Nine Indonesian citizens who sailed with the humanitarian mission Global Sumud Flotilla have returned to Indonesia on Sunday, May 24, after being abducted earlier by Israel en route to Gaza, Palestine. Families and communities welcomed their arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.Humanitarian activist Hendro Prasetyo recounted his experience of going on a hunger strike while being detained by the Israeli military. According to him, the zionist forces only provided limited food and drinks for hundreds of volunteers they abducted off international waters.But Hendro said the Global Sumud Flotilla activists were united in refusing to consume the food and drink given by Israel. "Our principle is that everything they give us is nothing but suffering. We don't know whether it was poisoned or not," he said at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday, May 24, 2026.They restrained themselves from consuming the bread and mineral water provided by Israel for three to five days, causing them to experience hunger and dehydration."The dehydration became unbearable for me, so I eventually drank the water," he said.The activist from SMART-171 also recalled severe treatment experienced by the Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers while being transferred to another ship. According to him, the drink provided was very limited."So we drank something like tap water. We were given water to share among 30 people, and each was only able to drink three gulps," he said.The same treatment was also experienced by Andre Prasetyo, a TV Tempo journalist who mentioned that he went on a hunger strike for three days. "I only ate and drank a little before being thrown to Asdod," said Andre at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.Torture was not limited to restricted food and drink intake. Andre mentioned that during their detention by Israel, the Global Sumud Flotilla activists experienced various forms of physical violence."My friend from Europe was shot with rubber bullets. We were woken up by the sound of explosions," he said.Andre's hands also showed some bruising, which he said resulted from being tied forcibly with cable ties during the encounter with the Israeli military.But Andre emphasized that the suffering he experienced was incomparable to what the Palestinian people have been enduring. "So, don't forget to continue to support the independence of Palestine. I ask the government to continue to seek diplomatic efforts," he said.Read: Nine Gaza Flotilla Volunteers Arrive in Indonesia After Israeli DetentionClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
