Gaza: In Paris, more than 300 people gathered to demand the release of members of the Handala crew

More than 300 people gathered in Paris on the evening of Tuesday, July 29, to demand the release of the Handala crew, intercepted by Israeli authorities while heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid, an AFP journalist noted.

While the two members of parliament from the France Insoumise (LFI) party on board have been released, other activists remain in detention in Israel. Twenty-one pro-Palestinian activists from ten countries were on board the Handala, which was intercepted Saturday evening as it approached Gaza and taken to Israel on Sunday.

"It was like a Hollywood movie," rebellious MP Gabrielle Cathala, who returned to France on Monday evening, told AFP, recalling the moment Israeli forces boarded the ship.

"There were at least four or five boats, about twenty of them, fully equipped with large assault rifles and pruning shears," she describes.

Eight activists remained in detention. The others, including Gabrielle Cathala, agreed to be expelled from Israel.

"The French government is obviously not up to the task," she said during a press briefing at the start of the rally, calling for "real financial, economic and diplomatic sanctions against Israeli leaders."

"Our diplomacy is completely failing in the face of the ongoing genocide," she added before addressing the protesters.

One of the activists, American Christian Smalls, reported "physical violence" during his arrest, while others described "poor conditions" of detention, according to the NGO Adalah, which provides legal aid to activists.

"Adalah stressed before the court that the prolonged detention of civilians, forcibly taken to Israel from international waters while trying to break the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, constitutes a flagrant violation of international law," the NGO added.

The Madleen, another boat sent by the same organization, was intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters in June. The activists, including Swedish citizen Greta Thunberg, were eventually expelled by Israel.