ISRAEL began deporting hundreds of international flotilla activists today after a far-right minister faced global condemnation for taunting detainees who were handcuffed and kneeling on the deck of a ship.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released videos on Wednesday showing him walking among approximately 430 detainees, some with their hands tied behind their backs and heads touching the floor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that while Israel has the “right” to stop the Global Sumud flotilla, he said Mr Ben-Gvir’s conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms,” and ordered the activists deported “as soon as possible.”

Britain, France, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Indonesia summoned and condemned Israeli envoys over the treatment of activists.

A British Foreign Office spokesperson said Mr Ben-Gvir’s conduct “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity,” adding that Israel “must ensure significantly more aid can enter safely and at scale through land routes.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Mr Ben-Gvir’s actions toward passengers were “unacceptable.”

The flotilla had set sail from Turkey’s Marmaris port on May 14, with more than 50 boats attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza amid widespread starvation.

Israeli forces intercepted the vessels around 268 kilometres from the Gaza coastline, off Cyprus.

Israel stopped an earlier flotilla near the Greek island of Crete on April 30, detaining two high-profile activists — Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila — for around a week before deporting them.

Both Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for “kidnapping” their citizens.

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since 2007, intensified after the October 7 2023 attack.