A trial has begun in Turkey against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 34 others. Besides Netanyahu, the accused include National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other senior Israeli political and military officials.
Turkish prosecutors have charged them with torture, unlawful detention, aggravated robbery, seizure of a vessel and crimes against humanity. The case also includes allegations of genocide in Palestine.
The case has moved into the formal trial stage after Turkey issued arrest warrants for the accused in July and, in August, asked for red notices to be issued against them through Interpol.
Raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla
At the heart of the case is the Israeli forces’ raid on the vessels of the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla. The flotilla set out to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the people trapped there.
More than 50 vessels carrying about 500 participants from 44 countries left Barcelona, Spain, on August 31, 2025. On the way, several of the flotilla’s boats were allegedly hit by drones off the coasts of Tunisia and Greece.
According to the case, Israeli forces later seized the vessels in international waters and detained the people on board. They allege that after their detention they were subjected to physical abuse, sexual violence, degrading treatment and denial of medical care. Whether these allegations are true will be decided in court.
Trial on behalf of 101 victims
Turkey mediated the release of those detained, and several hundred participants were later flown back to Istanbul on chartered flights. Among them were journalists and a contributor to Novara Media.
In Istanbul, teams of lawyers and doctors worked with them to gather evidence supporting the allegations of torture and ill-treatment. The case represents 101 victims.
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s legal team said the trial is not only an effort to secure justice for the victims but also an important step against a culture of impunity.
According to the legal team, when a state uses armed force against unarmed civilians trying to bring life-saving aid to a starving population, those who ordered and carried out the operation must also be held to account in court.
A case under international jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction allows serious international crimes committed on foreign soil to be tried. Turkey is pursuing the case under this principle.
Under it, certain international crimes can be tried even if they were not committed on a country’s own territory. The court will still have to rule on its jurisdiction, the admissibility of the charges and the liability of the accused.
Israeli officials also under investigation in Italy
Alongside the trial in Istanbul, prosecutors in Rome have widened an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of Global Sumud Flotilla participants. Israeli officials are being investigated on complaints from 50 Italian participants. The suspects include Ben-Gvir, Katz, Israel Defense Forces chief Eyal Zamir and 11 others.
The allegations being examined include torture, kidnapping, bodily harm, robbery, damage to property and acts that could have caused a shipwreck.
The legal action in Turkey and Italy has renewed questions of international accountability over the obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the treatment of those involved. The start of a trial on these charges does not mean the accused have been found guilty; their liability will be decided by the court’s verdict.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report