Tel Aviv / PNN /

Israeli sources confirmed on Monday that activists aboard the Hanthala aid ship were interrogated by security officials after being detained, with some announcing a hunger strike in protest of what they described as arbitrary detention. Israeli authorities are expected to deport three of the detainees within hours.

According to Israel's public broadcaster, the Hanthala ship was escorted to the port of Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast on Sunday afternoon, after being intercepted by the Israeli navy on the seventh day of its mission to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The activists onboard were reportedly interrogated and will later be transferred to Israeli police custody.

The legal advocacy group Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel said that authorities would begin deportation procedures for three of the detained activists: Antonio Mazzeo from Italy, Gabriel Kessala from France, and Jacob Berger from the United States.

Twelve other activists refused to sign voluntary deportation documents and are expected to face legal proceedings soon, according to Adalah. These 12 have launched an open-ended hunger strike since their detention, protesting what they describe as unlawful and arbitrary arrest by Israeli authorities. Details regarding the status of the remaining activists were not provided.

Attorney and activist Huwaida Arraf, who was among those onboard and has since been released, said Israel had seized the vessel in international waters. She added that she refused to sign a declaration pledging not to attempt to enter Gaza again.

Recalling the moments of the raid in an interview with Anadolu Agency, Arraf said: “They were heavily armed and also carrying many cameras, trying to create propaganda that they were treating us kindly and offering us food and water. But we refused it out of solidarity with the starving people of Gaza.”

Late Saturday night, Israeli naval forces stormed the Hanthala, which was carrying 21 international activists en route to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli-imposed blockade. The ship was seized near the coast after it issued a distress call as Israeli forces approached.

The Hanthala departed from the port of Syracuse, Italy, on July 13. After a technical stop in Gallipoli on July 15, the ship resumed its journey toward Gaza on July 20.