Tangerang - An Indonesian citizen (WNI) named Ronggo, who is a volunteer for the humanitarian flotilla to the Gaza Strip, told his testimony during the process of interception and detention by the Israeli Zionist forces.
Ronggo was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 cruise ship convoy that was intercepted by the Israeli military on May 19, 2026.
"It started to be intercepted on May 19. There was a military ship approaching our ship, then there were two armed speedboats. Our ship was intercepted, hijacked, and damaged," said Ronggo when met at Terminal 3 of Soetta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Sunday.
He explained that the humanitarian volunteers from various countries were then forced to be transferred to a military ship which was then detained.
He added that the volunteers detained by the Israeli forces were subjected to aggressive actions with violence.
"We got a punch, a kick on the military ship. Then we were moved again to Ashdod Port to take care of immigration, and there we got another punch," he said.
Ronggo stated that while in Ashdod Port, all the hostages were transferred to a detention facility in the Negev, southern Israel, before they were finally released and flown via Ben Gurion Airport to Jordan.
This violent treatment, he said again, was experienced by almost all volunteers and activists of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla who came from various countries. "Torture, violence continues to be carried out by the Zionist army. Almost 400 people received the same treatment," he said.
Meanwhile, Republika journalist and Global Sumud Flotilla volunteer, Thoudy Badai, said he was grateful to be able to return to Indonesia safely with eight other Indonesian citizens.
He said the experience of the volunteers was not comparable to the suffering experienced by the Palestinians, especially the prisoners.
"What I and my friends experienced, the violence and sadness committed by the Zionist Israelis is not comparable to what thousands of Palestinian prisoners, mostly children, mothers, and pregnant women, have experienced," he said.
Thoudy also invited the international community to continue to voice support for Palestinian independence. "I hope all people in the world will continue to support, continue to voice the Palestinian issue because that way can encourage the Palestinians to continue to be independent," he said.
Nine Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were victims of Israeli detention returned home through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta) Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday afternoon.
The return of the nine Indonesian citizens who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 cruise had previously undergone a long journey after successfully escaping from Israeli authorities' detention.
They were evacuated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Indonesian representative as a protection measure for Indonesian citizens. On his way, the Indonesian citizens were flown by Emirates flight on Saturday (23/5) at 19.35 Istanbul-Dubai time. Then, they were flown again via the Dubai-Jakarta route on Sunday (24/5) at 04.10 with arrival in Indonesia at 15.30 WIB.
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