TRIPOLI, LIBYA - OCT. 8, 2025: Libyan activists on board the Global Sumud Flotilla arrived at Mitiga International Airport in the capital city of Tripoli on Wednesday, Oct. 8. The activists were welcomed by their families, Libya’s Minister of Youth Fathallah Az-Zani, Palestine’s Ambassador to Tripoli Mohammad Rahhal, and a group of Libyans who cheered their arrival. The spokesperson of the Libyan vessel Omar al-Mukhtar in the Global Sumud Flotilla, Nabil al-Soukni, told an Anadolu Agency reporter that they thank Turkish government and Turkish people for hosting them in Türkiye after being deported from Israel, before returning to Libya. Sukni also said that the Israeli forces mistreated the activists. He noted that among them were people suffering from diabetes and cancer, and that Israeli forces had thrown away their medications. He added that a Nigerian activist from the vessel is still being held in an Israeli prison. Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla last week, detaining more than 470 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla was trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave. Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years. Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable, with widespread starvation and the spread of disease. Reporting by Muhammed Semiz / Writing by Ayse Elif Erdis