Two Washington residents abducted as part of Gaza aid flotilla

Two residents of Washington State have been abducted by Israeli military forces while participating in an international humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza.

According to the Gaza Sumud Flotilla (GSF), volunteers Alex Schaeffer and Andrew Bly were among the more than 400 activists intercepted at sea by the Israeli navy on May 18 and 19. Flotilla participants currently remain in Israeli custody.

A shocking video published by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on May 20 — showing flotilla participants being hit, verbally abused and bound in a prone position while in captivity — raised the alarm about potential acts of torture and abuse committed against the international volunteers. Ben Gvir’s actions and comments have elicited widespread condemnations by Western governments and officials.

In a statement, the GSF condemned the abuse of detained flotilla participants.

“A regime carrying out a livestreamed genocide has become so drunk on impunity that its ministers now openly post humiliation rituals online like campaign content,” the statement read. “Almost immediately following came the panic from other israeli officials; not because human beings were abused, blindfolded, and degraded, but because the machinery of violence was exposed too nakedly, too publicly, too honestly and threatened their ability to continue their abuse and occupation of the Palestinian people.”

GSF is a part of a coalition of activist organizations that sponsored more than 60 vessels that sailed toward Gaza this spring, with participants hailing from more than 40 countries. The flotilla’s mission is to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians living there who have endured two and a half years of genocidal warfare at the hands of Israel. Since a ceasefire was brokered in October 2025, Israeli forces have continued to attack Palestinians, killing almost 900 people according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Adalah, a Palestinian legal center representing the flotilla members, accused Israeli officials of “employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists.”

This is not the first time Israel has intercepted humanitarian aid flotillas en route to Gaza. In October 2025, Israel abducted more than 300 activists, including Washington State resident Jas Ikeda, as part of a previous GSF mission. After returning to Washington, Ikeda told Gossip Guy about the harsh conditions of her confinement, but emphasized that Palestinian political prisoners face far worse treatment than international activists.

German journalist Anna Liedtke, a participant of the fall 2025 flotilla, accused Israeli prison officers of raping her during a strip search while in detention.

A 2024 report by the U.N. Human Rights Office found that Palestinian detainees were held arbitrarily and secretly, and subjected to torture and mistreatment, by their Israeli captors. Israeli human rights organization B’tselem has described the Israeli prison system as a “network of torture camps” and said testimony from survivors recounted a “grave pattern of sexual violence” against Palestinian prisoners.

According to the GSF vessel tracker, Bly was on board the ship Andros (Akka) when he was intercepted, while Schaeffer was on the Zefiro (Beit Hanoun). Both were intercepted shortly after 2 p.m. Palestine Time on May 19.

According to a pre-recorded video, Bly said he was a resident of Olympia, which is represented by Democratic Congressmember Marilyn Strickland. Schaeffer did not share where he is from, but an Instagram post by GSF supporters indicated he is a resident of Washington’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas as well as parts of Tacoma. Democratic Congressmember Emily Randall represents the district.

In their videos, both Bly and Schaeffer urged their representatives to demand their freedom and safety. As of press time, neither Randall nor Strickland have responded to a request for comment or released a public statement on the abductions. Washington’s Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have not commented on the issue either.

The GSF and its supporters are calling on the public to demand the release of flotilla participants, with more than 1.1 million emails sent to elected officials around the world. In his video, Bly urged Washington residents to take action to end the attacks against Palestinians.

“Please put pressure on the United States government to end the funding and supplying of the war machine in Israel which is perpetrating a genocide on the people of Palestine,” he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated with new information.