Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Swedish national of Palestinian origin, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian national, were detained by Israeli authorities late on Wednesday and brought to Israel, while more than 100 other pro-Palestine activists aboard the Global Sumud flotilla were taken to the Greek island of Crete.
According to the Brazilian embassy, Avila said he had been subjected to torture, beatings and mistreatment in Israeli detention.
During a monitored visit inhttps://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-extends-detention-tortured-gaza-flotilla-activists which he was separated by glass and unable to communicate freely, embashttps://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-extends-detention-tortured-gaza-flotilla-activistssy officials observed visible marks on his face. He also reported significant pain, particularly in his shoulder.
Abu Keshek was "subjected to torture and severe abuse while detained aboard the military vessel prior to transfer", the Global Sumud flotilla said, citing eyewitness testimony.
Israel extends detention of 'tortured' Gaza flotilla activists
‘Governments continue to fail’: Freedom Flotilla sails again, vowing to challenge Israel’s Gaza blockade
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has announced a new international effort to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, with ships sailing between European ports before a planned attempt to reach the besieged Palestinian territory in October.
The FFC said its latest mission would go ahead despite the violence and torture meted out to flotilla volunteers on previous attempts, including severe beatings, repeated tasering and sexual assault.
The coalition also accused Israel of blocking the entry of food, medicine and fuel into Gaza, saying the humanitarian situation required renewed international action.
“The Freedom Flotilla sails again because our governments continue to fail to uphold their obligations,” said Zohar Chamberlain Regev, a FFC steering committee member.
Putin Orders Three-Day Halt to Kyiv Strikes Amid US Envoy Visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to halt strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for a period of three days beginning at midnight on Saturday, Sept. 5, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced.
The order coincides with the arrival of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on Saturday for diplomatic discussions regarding the war in Ukraine.
The American delegation landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport aboard a business jet, where they were met by Russian special representative Kirill Dmitriev, according to Russian media reports.
Peskov’s statement follows earlier remarks by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who speculated that Moscow would likely refrain from targeting Kyiv during the American negotiators’ stay in the region.
Captain calamity: Pete Hegseth under fire for ‘inept’ leadership of US military
In a different Washington, under a different president, a return to the well-worn playbook of all-out sanctions to counter Iran might have been the signal for a publicity-hungry US secretary of defense to adopt a lower profile.
But these are no ordinary times. And Pete Hegseth is no ordinary defense secretary.
Barely a week after the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, unleashed a supposed “economic D-day” aimed at crushing the regime in Tehran under the weight of commercial pressures, Hegseth once again returned to the limelight – and the center of controversy.
The former Fox News host usurped Bessent from center stage as the conflict with Iran reverted to open warfare and discontent at the Pentagon was laid bare once more.
Turf wars within Hegseth’s own fiefdom resurfaced with the resignation of the army secretary, fresh revelations of blocked promotions and leaked disclosures of resistance from military top brass of extended deployments to the Middle East.
First professional St Nick with Down syndrome inducted into International Santa Claus Hall of Fame
After recently gaining recognition as the first professional Santa Claus with Down syndrome in the US, Bradley Carlisle has already gotten a lot more than the traditional serving of milk and cookies that is usually left out for Father Christmas each year.U.S. strikes Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for missile attacks on Navy ships
The U.S. military on Saturday said it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Navy ships were targeted by missiles.
U.S. Central Command said it struck the vessels after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched two ballistic missiles at two Navy warships patrolling the sea. CENTCOM said a U.S. aircraft carrier and missile destroyer "successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks" and that no American personnel were injured.
"Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours," CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement posted on social media. "We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet."
Judge reinforces order halting immediate work on Trump’s 250-foot arch
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday, Sept. 4, to provide 48 hours’ notice before moving forward with work on the site of a planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the administration must inform the court “before engaging in any activity on Memorial Circle other than on-site information gathering” to identify underground cultural artifacts.
Chutkan reinforced her order a day after Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced plans on Sept. 3 to break ground at the site of the arch in the coming days.
“We are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery,” Burgum wrote on X. “This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World.”
Revealed: Microsoft signed $125m contract with Israel during first year of Gaza war
Microsoft signed a contract worth more than $100m with the Israeli government in 2024, according to documents published on the Israeli Ministry of Finance’s Hebrew-language website, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The multimillion-dollar deal appears in Israel's annual budget-execution report for 2024, which was published by the finance ministry's accountant general in March 2025.
However, details of the Microsoft agreement were obscured within a lengthy list of procurement commitments and only surfaced following close analysis of the budget report by MEE.
Buried in the report is a list of the defence ministry's largest procurement commitments. One entry records an agreement signed in 2024 with Microsoft "for the purchase of software licensing", worth approximately 464 million shekels (about $125.4m).
‘There was blood everywhere’: Survivors recount US strike on wedding in Iran
Maryam and Ziaeddin were meant to spend the most memorable night of their lives surrounded by their loved ones. They had no idea that their wedding would become the darkest moment of their lives and one of the most painful nights of the war for Iranians.
On the evening of Tuesday 1 September, around 350 people gathered in Kuhestak, in Sirik county, on the east coast of Iran’s Hormozgan province, for the wedding of Maryam Mallahi and Ziaeddin Khoshrish.
In keeping with local tradition, the celebration was held in two houses: the men gathered at a relative’s home, while the women waited at the bride’s family home. Coloured lights had been put up, the guests wore traditional clothing, and everyone was waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.
At around 9pm, as the United States launched a new wave of attacks across southern Iran, a series of explosions was heard in Kuhestak.
More Articles...
- Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy murder case after jury fails to reach unanimous verdict – as it happened
- Watchdog issues scathing report on Trump’s former labor secretary
- 104-mph BMW crash in Malibu killed 4 sorority sisters. Was it murder?
- Death toll from Israeli settler attacks spirals in 'most violent' year for West Bank
Page 3 of 1190
