Welcome to Israel, then the beating started
More than 400 activists, intercepted while attempting to reach Gaza by sea, were deported from Israel and returned home carrying accounts of violence that challenge the boundaries between security detention and systematic abuse. Italian parliamentarians and journalists among the group described broken bones, temporary blindness, and sexual violence against women and the elderly at a port facility in Ashdod. The public release of detention footage by Israel's Security Minister, framing the activists as threats, echoes a pattern of political theater that transforms human suffering into state messaging. What emerges is an old and unresolved question: at what point does the exercise of sovereign security become a wound inflicted on the conscience of the watching world.
- At least twenty detainees returned with fractures in their arms, legs, and ribs — injuries too numerous and too specific to be dismissed as incidental.
- An Italian deputy described being assigned a number, lined up at gunpoint, punched until he temporarily lost sight in one eye, and witnessing women and elderly people subjected to the same treatment.
- Allegations of sexual violence against female and elderly detainees have surfaced in initial testimonies, adding a dimension of abuse that remains underreported and underexamined.
- Israel's Security Minister publicly released footage of handcuffed detainees on the ground at Ashdod port — a deliberate act of political framing that mirrors his 2025 labeling of humanitarian activists as terrorists.
- Human rights organization Adalah has begun corroborating the accounts, documenting hospitalizations and injuries in a pattern that suggests coordination rather than isolated excess.
More than 400 activists deported from Israel returned home Thursday with accounts of violence that went far beyond routine detention. Among the first to land were an Italian journalist and a member of parliament, both describing systematic beatings, broken bones, and sexual abuse at what appeared to be a holding facility near the port of Ashdod.
Journalist Alessandro Mantovani described witnessing at least twenty people with fractures across their arms, legs, and ribs. He recounted being beaten himself, hearing screaming from elsewhere in the facility, and seeing others treated far worse. The human rights organization Adalah confirmed his account and documented multiple hospitalizations.
Deputy Dario Carotenuto of Italy's Five Star Movement arrived at Rome's Fiumicino Airport with his own testimony. He was assigned the number 147, lined up with other detainees, and forced to face armed guards pointing rifles at them. A blow to the eye left him temporarily unable to see. He described women and elderly detainees being struck after their eyes were covered, and he raised allegations of sexual violence against some of those held — a claim that appeared in his initial statement without elaboration, but which widened the scope of what was being reported.
The tone of the detention, Carotenuto recalled, was established from the first moment. As detainees were brought into a container facility, Israeli forces greeted them with the words: "Welcome to Israel" — followed immediately by beatings.
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir chose to release video footage of the detainees handcuffed on the ground at Ashdod, a decision that drew attention as much for its intent as its content. In October 2025, he had released similar footage of humanitarian activists, labeling them terrorists. The pattern — using detention imagery as public messaging — appeared to be continuing. The specificity of the injuries documented, and the range of people affected, left observers with a picture of something more organized than isolated incidents of excess.
More than 400 activists were deported from Israel on Thursday, and those who made it home brought accounts of violence that went far beyond routine detention. At least three people required hospitalization, according to the human rights organization Adalah. Among the first to return were an Italian deputy and a journalist, both carrying stories of systematic beatings, broken bones, and what some described as sexual abuse.
Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist and activist, described the scene with the precision of someone who had witnessed it closely. He said he saw at least twenty people with fractures in their arms, legs, and ribs. "They beat me, they beat Dario Carotenuto, and they beat others even worse," he said. "I saw people with what looked like broken arms and ribs. We could hear screaming in the distance." Adalah confirmed his account.
Dario Carotenuto, a deputy from Italy's Five Star Movement, arrived at Rome's Fiumicino Airport with his own testimony. He spoke of being assigned a number—147—and of being lined up with other detainees, forced to turn and face armed guards pointing rifles at them. "It was the worst moment of my life," he said. He described a punch to the eye that left him unable to see for a time, and he mentioned that women and elderly people were among those subjected to violence. Some detainees had their eyes covered before being struck in the face. Others, he said, were taken to the medical area in poor condition.
The initial moment of custody set the tone. When the detainees were brought to a container at what appeared to be a holding facility, Israeli forces greeted them with a phrase that carried its own menace. "Welcome to Israel," they were told, Carotenuto recalled. Then came the beating. He was not alone in this experience—multiple detainees reported similar treatment upon arrival.
Carotenuto also raised the question of sexual violence. "Others were victims of sexual assault," he said, without elaborating on specifics. The allegation appeared in his initial statement but received little elaboration, though it underscored the range of abuses being reported.
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released video footage showing detainees from the Gaza-bound flotilla handcuffed on the ground at the port of Ashdod. The decision to publicize the footage drew attention not only for what it showed but for the pattern it represented. In October 2025, Ben-Gvir had released similar video of detained humanitarian activists, labeling them terrorists. The current release suggested a continuation of that approach—using detention footage as a form of public messaging.
The accounts from Mantovani and Carotenuto, corroborated by Adalah's documentation of hospitalizations and injuries, painted a picture of detention that went beyond standard security procedures. The specificity of the injuries—fractures in multiple locations, temporary blindness from blunt force, the systematic nature of the beatings—suggested something more organized than isolated incidents. The fact that women and elderly people were among those reporting abuse added another dimension to the allegations.
Notable Quotes
They beat me, they beat Dario Carotenuto, and they beat others even worse. I saw people with what looked like broken arms and ribs.— Alessandro Mantovani, Italian journalist and activist
It was the worst moment of my life. We could hear screaming in the distance.— Dario Carotenuto, Italian deputy, describing the detention
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you read that these activists were beaten upon arrival, was that a surprise to you, or part of a pattern you'd already seen?
It's part of a pattern, but the specificity here is what strikes me. They were assigned numbers like prisoners. They were told "welcome to Israel" and then immediately assaulted. That's not chaos—that's a greeting.
The deputy mentions being punched in the eye so hard he couldn't see. That's a serious injury. Did anyone investigate that?
The accounts came from the activists themselves and were confirmed by a human rights organization. But there's no indication of an official investigation. The Israeli security minister instead released video of the detainees in custody, which is its own kind of statement.
Why would he do that? Why publicize footage of people you've detained?
That's the question. He called them terrorists in October when he did something similar. It seems like a way of controlling the narrative—showing them as dangerous, justifying the detention before anyone else can frame it.
But if they were beaten, wouldn't that be visible in the video?
Possibly. But the video shows them handcuffed on the ground. It doesn't show what happened before or after. It's a still image, not a story.
So we're left with the activists' accounts versus the minister's framing.
Yes. And the human rights organization documenting hospitalizations and fractures. That's the third voice in this.