Italy investigates Israeli Katz for abusing and sexually assaulting fleet activists

Rome's prosecutor also named 12 senior military, police and prison officials accused of abusing detained activists.

Italian prosecutors are investigating Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and 12 senior military, police and prison officials over the treatment of activists detained on solidarity boats to Gaza.

The Rome prosecutor's office said on Friday that the case related to torture, kidnapping, personal injury, theft and damage when Israeli forces intercepted a small fleet of active boats heading to Gaza in 2025 and 2026.

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The end of the list started the investigation after the complaint of 50 Italian citizens who were detained following two missions of the Global Somod fleet last year and this year.

Among the people named as suspects is Eyal Zamir, the commander of the Israeli army.

Activists arrested after the first mission in 2025 reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism, prosecutors said. Those on the second mission in 2026 reported more violent behavior, including beatings in the dark and the use of tasers and rubber bullets, the statement said.

These activists reported at least 15 incidents of sexual assault, including rape.

Benguirre dismissed news of the investigation in June, saying he would "continue to stand proudly by" Israeli soldiers.

Organizers of the flotilla say their goal is to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by sending humanitarian aid.

Somod's first global fleet set sail from Barcelona in September 2025 with 42 boats and 462 operators. Israeli forces intercepted it in international waters in early October of the same year, and hundreds of people were detained and then deported.

The second mission left Barcelona in April 2026. Israeli forces began intercepting ships near the southern Greek island of Crete on April 30, and by May 19 had detained about 430 people on about 50 ships in international waters, with the latest intercepts near Cyprus.

Ben Guer later released a video showing him taunting cable-tied activists kneeling in a makeshift prison in the port of Ashdod while the Israeli national anthem played.

Prosecutors said they sent a request for judicial assistance to Israel in June, seeking information to reconstruct events and determine individual responsibility, but did not say whether Israel had responded.

They also spoke at Eurojust, the European Union's agency for judicial cooperation, as other similar investigations are underway in other European countries.

Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be prosecuted in Rome.

If the investigation shows that the charges are justified, the prosecutor can formally request a trial.