Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian national Thiago Avila appeared before a court in Ashkelon for a second hearing, after being brought to Israel last week following the interception of their vessel by Israeli forces off the coast of Greece.“The court approved their detention until Sunday morning,” said Miriam Azem of Adalah, which is providing legal representation.

An AFP journalist witnessed the activists being escorted into the courtroom with their legs shackled.The two were among dozens of individuals aboard a flotilla that had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the stated aim of delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza and challenging Israel’s long-standing blockade.

Adalah said the activists have been on a hunger strike for six days and alleged that both were subjected to physical and psychological abuse in detention. The group said they were being held in isolation under constant high-intensity lighting, with Avila allegedly exposed to extremely cold temperatures.“They are kept blindfolded at all times whenever they are moved outside their cells, including during medical examinations,” the group said.

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations.During an earlier hearing, prosecutors presented a list of charges including assisting the enemy during wartime and membership in, and providing services to, a terrorist organization, according to Adalah.

Defense lawyers challenged Israel’s jurisdiction, arguing the activists had been unlawfully detained in international waters.Israel’s foreign ministry said both individuals were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, which it alleged has links to Hamas. It described Abu Keshek as a leading member and said Avila was also suspected of involvement in illegal activity.

The flotilla was part of the Global Sumud initiative, whose previous attempt last year was similarly intercepted. Israeli forces stopped the latest convoy early on Thursday off Greece’s coast.Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since 2007 and controls access points into the territory.

Aid flows have been severely disrupted during the ongoing war that began in October 2023, contributing to shortages of essential supplies.

Abukeshek was detained alongside Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila after the Israeli navy stopped the humanitarian vessel, while dozens of other activists were intercepted by the Greek coast guard and taken to the island of Crete, according to officials and legal representatives.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the detention as unlawful and said he had raised the matter directly with his Israeli counterpart.“This is a case of illegal detention in international waters, outside the jurisdiction of Israeli authorities,” Albares said in an interview with Spain’s public radio.

“I have made this clear to my Israeli counterpart.”The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, known as Adalah, said it visited both men at a detention facility in the Israeli port city of Ashkelon and reported that they had begun a hunger strike.

The group said the two activists alleged they had been repeatedly beaten while in custody and were subjected to isolation, prolonged blindfolding and physical assault.“Adalah maintains that the treatment of the two activists, including the use of isolation, prolonged blindfolding and physical beatings, constitutes a grave violation of international law,” the organization said in a statement.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in an online post that Abukeshek and Ávila were being questioned over possible links to the Palestinian militant group Hamas and confirmed that both had been granted consular access.

The detention has added fresh strain to already tense relations between Israel and Spain, one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.Spain formally recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024, a move that triggered strong objections from Israel and widened diplomatic friction between the two governments.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez intensified criticism on Friday during a campaign event ahead of regional elections in southern Spain, directly addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the detention.“Now that Netanyahu has taken foreign citizens, including a Spanish national, and brought them to Israel, I have a few things to say to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Sánchez told supporters of his Socialist Party.

“First, Spain will always protect its citizens. Second, we will always uphold international law — and this is yet another violation of it,” he said. “And third, we demand the release of the Spanish citizen who has been illegally detained by the Netanyahu government.”

The case has drawn wider attention across Europe as international activists continue attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the prolonged conflict and worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of more than 50 boats that departed in recent weeks from Marseille, Barcelona and Syracuse, said in a statement posted overnight on X that Israeli forces had approached the convoy near the eastern Mediterranean as it sailed toward Gaza.

“Israeli military boats have illegally surrounded the flotilla in international waters and threatened kidnapping and violence,” the group said, adding that communications had been lost with 11 vessels.

According to the organization’s live tracking system, the flotilla was positioned off the coast of Greece near Crete when the incident occurred.

The group said military speedboats identifying themselves as Israeli forces approached the vessels, pointed lasers and semi-automatic weapons at passengers, and ordered participants to move to the front of the boats and kneel.

“Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as ‘Israel’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons,” the organization said, adding that communications were being jammed and that a distress signal had been issued.Reuters could not independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate public comment from Israeli authorities.

The flotilla is part of a continuing effort by international activists to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007 after Hamas took control of the enclave.

Organizers say the mission is intended to deliver solidarity and draw attention to humanitarian conditions in Gaza, while Israel has previously said such flotillas violate security restrictions designed to prevent weapons and materials from reaching Hamas.

In late 2025, a previous flotilla involving around 50 boats and several high-profile activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was intercepted by the Israeli navy.The organizers and Amnesty International said that boarding operation violated international law, while Israel detained and later deported those involved.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, after nearly two years of war, while aid access and maritime restrictions around Gaza remain major points of dispute.

The move is expected to increase the daily flow of food, fuel and medicine through supervised crossings while military operations continue in parts of northern and central Gaza.

Aid agencies welcomed the decision but said implementation and safe access for relief convoys remain critical amid ongoing fighting and infrastructure collapse.

Medical officials said at least 13 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday across the Gaza Strip, including Islam Al-Tanani, who was pregnant with twins, and her children Hamza and Naya in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

The deaths added to mounting civilian casualties despite the truce that took effect on Oct. 10, with residents and aid workers warning that daily strikes continue to make the ceasefire feel largely symbolic for many Palestinians.Khalid Al-Tanani, the husband of the deceased woman, described a series of strikes that hit their home in quick succession.

“With the first shell, thank God we all survived and were calling out to each other. Then they fired the second, third, and fourth shells one after the other. Their voices fell silent,” he said.“I found my wife, Islam Al-Tanani, martyred, and my son Hamza, and Naya in her mother’s arms.”Hamza was four years old and Naya was 13.

Islam was expecting twins, family members said.Hamza’s 13-year-old twin brother survived, along with another child of the couple. Relatives said the family had recently begun preparing for the arrival of the newborns.

Mourners gathered at the funeral on Saturday at Al-Shifa Hospital, where grieving relatives wept over the bodies before burial.In southern Gaza, officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said eight more people, including four police officers, were killed when Israel struck a police vehicle.

Two other men were reported killed in Gaza City, bringing Friday’s total death toll to at least 13, according to local hospitals.Israel’s military said several militants had threatened troops operating in the area and that forces carried out an airstrike after warning civilians to leave.

Al-Tanani disputed that account, saying no warning had been issued before the strikes.The military separately said it had targeted two militants who posed a threat to Israeli troops in Gaza City but did not comment directly on the strike in Khan Younis that killed eight people.

Although large-scale fighting has eased since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces continue to fire near military-held zones and militants have launched attacks on troops, contributing to repeated violations of the truce.Israel says its strikes are responses to militant activity and security threats. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, according to Israeli officials.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 790 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began six months ago. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, says 72,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.The war was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Israeli authorities.

The continued bloodshed has deepened concerns among international mediators that the ceasefire remains highly vulnerable, with civilians bearing the heaviest cost of repeated breakdowns in calm.

Nearly 1.5 million voters were registered across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, while around 70,000 were eligible to vote in Gaza’s Deir El-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., with voting taking place under the shadow of continued conflict, institutional paralysis, and long-standing frustration over the absence of national elections.

Footage from Al-Bireh in the West Bank and Deir El-Balah in Gaza showed election workers preparing polling centers as residents arrived to cast ballots in what many described as a symbolic rather than transformative process.

Most electoral lists were aligned with President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah movement or were running as independents.There were no lists affiliated with Hamas, which governs much of Gaza and remains Fatah’s principal political rival.In many municipalities, including Ramallah and Nablus, only one list was submitted, resulting in automatic victory without a contested vote.

Where competition existed, Fatah-backed candidates faced independent lists, some led by figures associated with leftist factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.Mahmud Bader, a businessman from Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, said he would vote despite believing the outcome would have little practical effect.

“Whether candidates are independent or partisan, it has no effect and will have no effect or benefit for the city,” he said.“The occupation is the one that rules Tulkarem. It would only be an image shown to the international media — as if we have elections, a state or independence.

”Tulkarem has been under heightened Israeli military pressure, with two adjacent refugee camps remaining under military control for more than a year.In Gaza, the vote in Deir El-Balah marked the first local electoral exercise since Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections and later took control of the enclave in 2007.

Political analysts said the Palestinian Authority’s decision to hold voting only in Deir El-Balah reflected both logistical limits and a cautious test of public sentiment in post-war Gaza.Jamal Al-Fadi, a political scientist at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, said the limited vote served as an “experiment” because there had been no reliable post-war opinion polling.

Deir El-Balah was selected partly because it was one of the few areas in Gaza where much of the population had remained in place and not been displaced during more than two years of war.Farah Shaath, 25, said voting for the first time was emotionally significant despite the extraordinary conditions.

“Although it is unlike any election in the world, it is a confirmation of our continued existence in the Gaza Strip despite everything,” she said.The elections commission said polling staff in Gaza were recruited from civil society groups and that a private security company had been contracted to secure voting centers.

However, a commission source in Gaza said Hamas police insisted on overseeing security around polling stations through unarmed personnel in civilian clothing.

UN coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov praised the organization of the vote, calling it a “credible process” and saying the elections represented an important opportunity for Palestinians to exercise democratic rights during an exceptionally difficult period.

Abbas, now 90, has remained in office for more than two decades without re-election, despite repeated promises of legislative and presidential polls that have yet to materialize.

Saturday’s municipal vote, while limited in scope, reflects both the persistence of Palestinian civic institutions and the deep uncertainty surrounding the future of governance in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Medical personnel and humanitarian organizations say Israeli attacks have increasingly hit hospitals, ambulances and emergency responders during the ongoing campaign against Hezbollah, which Israel accuses of operating from civilian areas.

Hezbollah denies using medical facilities for military purposes.According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 54 health professionals have been killed since hostilities escalated on March 2. The ministry also reported 152 attacks on ambulances and emergency teams, as well as the closure of six hospitals and 49 health clinics due to damage or security threats.

In the southern port city of Sidon, hospitals are facing mounting pressure as casualties rise. Doctors say the influx of wounded has strained a system already weakened by years of economic crisis and limited resources. Power outages and shortages of medical supplies have further complicated treatment efforts.

Dr. Mohammed Ziara, a burn surgeon from Gaza now working in Sidon with the UK-based nonprofit Interburns, said the situation resembled what he experienced during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He said frontline hospitals are overwhelmed and struggling to cope with the volume of injuries.

The Sidon Government Hospital, where a specialized burn unit has been established, is receiving patients from across southern Lebanon, particularly from areas near the evacuation zone. Medical teams say capacity constraints often require discharging patients to accommodate new arrivals.

The World Health Organization said Israeli strikes on March 28 killed multiple paramedics responding to earlier attacks, highlighting the risks faced by emergency responders. The Israeli military has said some targeted individuals were affiliated with Hezbollah, though it has not provided public evidence.

Human rights organizations say such incidents echo earlier patterns observed in Gaza, where the United Nations reported high casualties among health workers and journalists during Israeli operations.

Analysts warn that repeated strikes on medical infrastructure could further degrade Lebanon’s already fragile health system.Civilians and medical staff say evacuation orders and ongoing bombardment have displaced more than one million people, forcing patients and hospitals to relocate under difficult conditions.

Transfers often require coordination among multiple authorities, leading to delays that doctors say can be life-threatening.Lebanese officials and residents have also raised concerns about the unpredictability of strikes.

Some civilians say attacks have hit residential areas without warning, complicating efforts to identify safe zones.Israel maintains that its operations target Hezbollah infrastructure and that the group’s presence in civilian regions complicates military action.

The escalation follows Hezbollah’s entry into the regional conflict alongside Iran, prompting expanded Israeli operations in southern Lebanon.

The Crown Prince stressed the importance of ending the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians, ensuring a complete Israeli withdrawal, and advancing peace efforts in line with the two-state solution.

The cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom’s support for ongoing regional and international initiatives aimed at strengthening global security and fostering sustainable peace.

Alongside international diplomacy, the council reviewed domestic initiatives focused on enhancing public services, improving productivity, and supporting sustainable growth.

Officials highlighted progress on government programs designed to deliver innovative solutions and benefit citizens across the Kingdom.

A key highlight was the launch of the King Salman Gate Project in Makkah, a transformative infrastructure initiative aimed at improving the experience for visitors to the Grand Mosque.

The project represents the Kingdom’s commitment to combining modern development with cultural and spiritual excellence.

Housing and real estate development were also central to the discussions. The cabinet reviewed strategies to expand housing supply, achieve market balance, and provide citizens with diverse housing options. These measures aim to attract investors, support urban growth, and enhance economic stability.

The council also celebrated Saudi Arabia’s recent achievements in education, rural development, and transport, reflecting the Kingdom’s dedication to innovation and global best practices.

The Saudi International Railway Exhibition and Conference further demonstrated this commitment, bringing together participants from over 20 countries and facilitating more than 50 agreements supporting the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services.

The Crown Prince emphasized that these initiatives reflect a balanced approach, combining leadership in global humanitarian issues with tangible progress in national development.

By addressing urgent needs abroad and advancing infrastructure and housing at home, Saudi Arabia continues to enhance quality of life for citizens while reinforcing its international influence.

Officials underscored that these efforts align with Vision 2030, promoting sustainable development, economic diversification, and international collaboration.

By integrating domestic growth with diplomatic engagement, the Kingdom aims to maintain its role as a proactive and responsible global actor, driving progress on multiple fronts.

Saudi Arabia’s achievements in diplomacy, infrastructure, and innovation demonstrate its commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity.

The government’s focus on both humanitarian leadership and domestic development exemplifies a forward-looking strategy that positions the Kingdom as a regional and international leader in governance, innovation, and social progress.

This duality—preaching unity while practicing duplicity—has become Pakistan’s diplomatic hallmark.

When the Taliban stormed into Kabul in August 2021, Pakistan’s powerful intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, appeared at the Serena Hotel and assured journalists, “Everything will be okay.”

His confident smile captured Islamabad’s belief that decades of strategic maneuvering had finally paid off. Pakistan, long accused of nurturing the Taliban, assumed it would now wield decisive influence over its western neighbor.

Four years later, those hopes have turned to ashes. The Taliban’s rise, once hailed in Islamabad as a geopolitical triumph, has become a source of profound insecurity and humiliation.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emboldened by its ideological kin in Kabul, has unleashed a deadly insurgency across Pakistan’s tribal belt. Hundreds of Pakistani soldiers have been killed in cross-border raids. The Taliban, despite Pakistan’s past support, has refused to curb the TTP.

The so-called “strategic depth” has instead exposed Pakistan’s strategic shallowness. A state that once boasted of controlling its proxies now finds itself hostage to them. The illusion of regional mastery has dissolved into a grim reality: Pakistan is isolated, insecure, and rapidly losing credibility.

Weaponizing Refugees

Having failed to tame the Taliban, Pakistan turned its frustration toward Afghan civilians. In October 2023, Islamabad launched the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), targeting nearly 1.7 million undocumented Afghans. For decades, Afghan refugees had lived, worked, and raised families in Pakistan. Suddenly, they became scapegoats for Islamabad’s security failures.

By mid-2025, more than 600,000 Afghans had been deported in what international observers described as one of South Asia’s largest forced repatriations in decades. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch chronicled chilling stories of police harassment, arbitrary detentions, and family separations.

Pakistan justified the campaign as a counterterrorism measure, accusing Afghan refugees of harboring TTP militants. But analysts saw it differently: an act of political retribution against the Taliban regime. Kabul condemned the deportations as a breach of international law and accused Islamabad of deepening Afghanistan’s humanitarian catastrophe.

This was more than just a border dispute—it was a symptom of Pakistan’s broader malaise. A state that once prided itself on being a refuge for the oppressed had turned into a place of fear and hostility. The moral cost of Islamabad’s Afghan policy was now unmistakable.

Airstrikes and Escalation

Pakistan’s response extended beyond deportations. Under the guise of pursuing TTP sanctuaries, it began conducting airstrikes inside Afghan territory.

In April 2022, bombings in Khost and Kunar killed 47 civilians, mostly women and children. Similar attacks followed in March and December 2024, targeting Paktika and Khost. In January 2025, fresh strikes were launched along the volatile Durand Line. Over a hundred civilians have died since 2021, according to regional monitors.

Each operation fuelled anger and anti-Pakistan protests across Afghanistan. The Taliban government condemned the attacks as violations of sovereignty, accusing Pakistan of hiding its failures behind a counterterrorism narrative.

By 2025, Pakistan’s western frontier was once again aflame—only this time, without American troops to share the blame. The Afghan war that Islamabad once believed it had outsourced had come home, exacting both human and diplomatic costs.

Diplomacy as Deception

The crisis reached a symbolic peak in September 2025, when Islamabad hosted the “Towards Unity and Trust” conference under the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute.

Despite the event’s conciliatory title, the Taliban government was conspicuously excluded. Instead, the gathering featured anti-Taliban activists and politicians, turning what was billed as a dialogue into an exercise in diplomatic provocation.

Just days later, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif labeled Afghanistan an “enemy state”—a stunning reversal from Pakistan’s earlier rhetoric of “brotherhood.”

This diplomatic whiplash mirrors a deeper inconsistency at the heart of Pakistan’s foreign policy. It speaks of a nation perpetually caught between ambition and insecurity, between Islamic solidarity and realpolitik.

Even its domestic realities now echo this hypocrisy.

In early October 2025, a story broke that underscored how deeply investor confidence has eroded under the current administration. Out of 23 oil and gas exploration blocks offered for bidding, no local or foreign bids were received for 22. The only bid came from Mari Gas, and even that was for a small block with negligible output.

Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, Pakistan’s opposition leader, wrote “investors know this is an illegitimate govt,” saying no company—foreign or domestic—was willing to invest in a country “without rule of law.” He accused the government of driving away foreign direct investment through arbitrary governance, economic mismanagement, and political repression.

This episode is emblematic of Pakistan’s larger credibility crisis. When even domestic energy firms shy away from state-backed ventures, the problem is not market dynamics—it is a collapse of trust. The same lack of accountability that defines Pakistan’s regional duplicity now poisons its economic foundations.

The Iran Paradox and the Palestine Hypocrisy

Pakistan’s double-dealing extends far beyond its Afghan misadventure.

In June 2025, Islamabad publicly condemned U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, declaring solidarity with Tehran. Yet, only days earlier, Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir had met privately with Donald Trump, reportedly discussing “regional stability.” In a surreal twist, Pakistan went on to nominate Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, effectively undercutting its supposed alignment with Iran.

This duality—preaching unity while practicing duplicity—has become Pakistan’s diplomatic hallmark.

The same contradictions stain its stance on Palestine. While Pakistani leaders have long professed unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, history tells another story. During Black September 1970, Brigadier Zia ul-Haq, later Pakistan’s military ruler, helped Jordan crush the Palestine Liberation Organization, a massacre that claimed thousands of lives.

In July 2025, Pakistan awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz to U.S. CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, despite his role in coordinating American military support for Israel during its Gaza operations.

At the UN General Assembly’s 80th session, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Daniel Rosen, head of the American Jewish Congress, signaling a quiet but unmistakable outreach to pro-Israel circles.

For a country that brands itself the guardian of Muslim causes, the hypocrisy is striking. From Amman to Gaza, Pakistan’s leaders have consistently traded principle for expediency.

A Consistent Inconsistency

Across every theater—Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, and even its own energy sector—a single pattern emerges: Pakistan’s promises collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.

It seeks influence in Kabul but alienates Afghans through bombings and deportations. It pledges brotherhood with Tehran while courting Washington. It proclaims solidarity with Palestine while decorating America’s military commanders. And now, it claims to welcome foreign investment while creating an environment so lawless that even local companies refuse to bid.

In the end, Pakistan’s gravest betrayal is not of its neighbors, but of itself. The erosion of credibility abroad mirrors the decay of governance at home. As investors flee, allies distance themselves, and insurgents advance, the message is clear: a nation that manipulates every alliance eventually stands alone.

For decades, Pakistan’s generals and politicians have built policies on the illusion of control. The Afghan gamble was meant to cement regional influence; instead, it has exposed a state adrift, distrusted by friends and foes alike.

The “everything will be okay” optimism of 2021 now rings hollow. For Pakistan, everything is decidedly not okay—and the world, finally, has stopped believing its promises.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Milli Chronicle’s point-of-view.

Macron’s remarks, delivered during a state visit to Singapore, called on European nations to reconsider their diplomatic posture toward Israel, warning that the continuation of the status quo in Gaza was morally and politically untenable.

“If the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, Europe must adopt a hardened stance,” Macron said, adding that such a stance would involve “dropping the assumption that human rights are being respected, and applying sanctions.”

He further declared that recognizing a Palestinian state under conditions was “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity,” signaling a shift in France’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a swift and scathing response, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement denouncing Macron’s position. “There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie,” the statement said, defending Israeli efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“But instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state,” the ministry added. “No doubt its national day will be October 7,” referencing the date of Hamas’ surprise attacks in southern Israel in 2023.

The Israeli government’s unusually sharp rhetoric underscores growing diplomatic friction between Tel Aviv and European capitals, particularly as calls intensify for an immediate ceasefire and increased humanitarian access in Gaza.

Macron’s stance aligns with a broader European sentiment that the prolonged conflict and civilian toll in Gaza require a recalibration of the West’s policies toward Israel. While France has traditionally maintained strong ties with both Israel and the Arab world, the war in Gaza appears to be testing those diplomatic balances.

France has not formally recognized a Palestinian state but has indicated it may do so unilaterally if peace prospects remain blocked — a move Israel sees as undermining negotiations and rewarding extremist factions.

As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepens and global outrage mounts, Macron’s call may signal a turning point in European diplomacy — and a potential diplomatic rift with Israel.