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LONDON: The UK Foreign Office has voiced its concern over the fate of around 470 activists set to be taken by Israeli authorities to a prison in the Negev Desert.

The activists — including environmentalist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and a former Royal Air Force pilot — were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla trying to break the siege of Gaza.

They were arrested by Israeli forces in international waters before being transferred to the city of Ashdod for processing.

Before being boarded, Thunberg posted a video message to social media saying: “If you’re watching this video, I’ve been abducted and taken against my will by Israeli forces. Our humanitarian mission was non-violent and abiding by international law.”

Many of the activists will be taken to Ketziot prison, which is known for violent treatment of Palestinian detainees, for several days before they are deported.

Clare Azzougarh, daughter of 72-year-old RAF veteran Malcolm Ducker, told The Times: “This is where they keep Palestinians accused of terrorism, so I have concerns about their welfare — this looks punitive.

“They said it is because there are so many of them and they need to keep them together but I don’t believe that for a second.”

She said she had seen footage of her father being hit with water cannons fired by Israeli military vessels.

“The people on his boat all decided to ditch their phones when they were intercepted to avoid their data and contacts being taken by the Israelis,” she added.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, posted on X: “I think they must be kept here in an Israeli prison for a few months, so that they can smell the scent of the terrorist wing.

“There can be no situation in which the prime minister sends them again and again and again to their countries — and this sending causes them to return again and again and again.”

The UK Foreign Office said it is “very concerned” about the wellbeing of the activists, with South Africa, Colombia, Spain, Malaysia, Brazil and Pakistan lodging official protests with Israel at their detention.

A Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement: “We are very concerned about the situation with the Sumud flotilla. We are in touch with the families of a number of British nationals involved and we have been in contact with the Israeli authorities to make clear that we expect the situation to be resolved safely, in line with international law and with due respect for the rights of all those on board.

“The aid carried by the flotilla should be turned over to humanitarian organisations on the ground to be delivered safely into Gaza.”

Four Italian MPs aboard the flotilla were released quickly, the country’s Foreign Ministry said, after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni claimed that the flotilla could endanger peace talks to end the war in Gaza and condemned strikes in her country in protest against the arrests.

Around 30,000 people took to the streets of Milan on Friday as train services nationwide were canceled.

The day before, protesters targeted a conference in Turin due to host EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, while 10,000 people marched through Rome on Wednesday.

Protests were also held in Florence and Bologna, as well as in Greece, Germany, Tunisia and Turkiye. On Thursday, as many as 150,000 people marched through Barcelona in Spain.

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: US President Donald Trump’s administration approved $230 million for Lebanon’s security forces this week as they push to disarm the once powerful armed group Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces.
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30. “For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant,” one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
The funding was released at a time when the Republican president’s administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is America First.
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that US assistance supports Lebanese forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”
The resolution, adopted in August 2006, ended the last round of deadly conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
A conflict between Israel and Lebanon that began a year ago has battered Hezbollah and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the US-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm since the devastating war with Israel. But the Iran-backed group is under pressure to give up its weapons from its rivals in Lebanon and from Washington.
The Lebanese source said the funding would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security in Lebanon so the LAF can focus on other critical missions.