Ankara: Israeli legal center Adalah has called for an investigation into the alleged rape of a German journalist who was involved in the 2025 Gaza-bound humanitarian aid mission, Global Sumud Flotilla.

According to Anadolu Agency, Adalah has filed a complaint with Israeli authorities, seeking a criminal investigation into the serious allegations made by the journalist. The journalist claimed that while detained at Givon Prison in Ramla, central Israel, female prison guards ordered her to strip naked in the presence of male guards who watched from behind a curtain. The complaint further alleges that one of the female guards sexually assaulted her amid the laughter of the male guards.

The statement from Adalah also described additional alleged abuses during the journalist’s transfer from the port to Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert. The journalist and other flotilla participants reportedly faced physical and verbal abuse from security forces and prison service staff. The alleged violence included being restrained with plastic handcuffs, blindfolded, screamed at, physically attacked, and threatened.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was launched in 2025 to deliver aid to Gaza, a region that has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly 18 years. The blockade, which intensified in March with the closure of border crossings, has led to severe shortages of food and medicine, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the territory.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza, which escalated into a genocide starting in October 2023, has resulted in the deaths of nearly 73,000 Palestinians and injuries to over 172,000 others. Approximately 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, further deepening the crisis for its nearly 2.4 million residents.