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This grab from black and white CCTV footage shows members on flotilla boat with hands in air as Israeli forces intercepted activists who set sail earlier this month from Barcelona attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, near the southern Greek island of Crete, early Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Global Sumud Flotilla via AP)
By The Canadian Press

Two Canadians on Gaza flotilla intercepted by Israel have been released: organizer

May 1, 2026 | 4:35 PM

A spokesperson for a group trying to break the Israeli navy blockade of Gaza to deliver aid says two Canadians who were detained by Israel in the Mediterranean Sea have been released.

Safa Chebbi says she has been told by Global Sumud Canada’s organizer on the ground in Greece that both Canadians were in hospital for medical checkups.

The Global Sumud Flotilla has identified the Canadians as Marie Tota, a nurse from Ontario, and Umir Tiar, a student from Quebec City.

It said Luiza Noura, a third Canadian, was rescued by Greenpeace and Spanish NGO Open Arms after her boat was destroyed and she was left adrift in the sea.

Chebbi says Tota, Tiar and Noura were among the activists whose boats were intercepted this week by the Israeli navy in international waters, hundreds of kilometres from Gaza.

Israel says it has released all but two activists: a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin and a Brazilian citizen who were taken in for questioning.

In a video posted on social media after her release, Tiar said the captives were held in inhumane conditions on a ship where floors were deliberately flooded, and some of them were randomly taken into isolation.

“Some people were beaten, shot at by rubber bullets, some people were dragged on the floor by their arms and by their neck,” she said.

Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to the activists’ accusations. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday that activists were taken off flotilla vessels unharmed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2026.

–With files from The Associated Press

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press