Rome prosecutors place Israeli ministers Katz and Ben-Gvir under investigation over Flotilla
Prosecutors in Rome have placed Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir among about a dozen people under investigation over the Global Sumud Flotilla assault.
Who is under investigation
Prosecutors in Rome have placed about a dozen people under investigation over the Israeli assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla, judicial sources said on Friday, 16 October. Open puts the number at 13. The file covers two humanitarian missions bound for Gaza, one in September and October 2025 and one in April and May 2026, and targets what the prosecutors describe as Israel's entire chain of command. Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are both on the list. Also named are the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, and Vice Admiral David Saar Salama, who commanded the navy from 2 September 2021 to 24 December 2025.
- First Flotilla mission to Gaza, covered by the probe
- Second Flotilla mission to Gaza, also covered by the probe
- Rome prosecutors place about a dozen people under investigation
What the prosecutors allege
The allegations range from torture to kidnapping. The file also cites naval boardings carried out in violation of international law, poor detention conditions, degrading treatment, and a failure to respect basic rights and the right to a defence. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that the probe rests on complaints from 50 Italian citizens who took part in the missions, and that the offences examined include robbery and damage followed by shipwreck. Witness accounts describe beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism, along with deprivation of food, medical care and sleep. Participants also reported unsanitary conditions and little access to lawyers or Italian diplomats. In the second mission, witnesses described beatings in the dark, the use of tasers and rubber bullets against participants.
In a statement, the prosecutors said:
A system of violence, torture, detention conditions and degrading treatment was set up, without respecting the basic and defence rights of individuals.
The Ashdod video and Italy's response
A video posted from the port of Ashdod shows Ben-Gvir taunting Italian activists who had been detained, handcuffed, blindfolded and forced to kneel with their faces to the ground. President Sergio Mattarella said the minister had reached the "lowest" level in that episode. The outrage in Italy over the minister's conduct was strong enough that Rome summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest. The investigation extends the scrutiny beyond that video to the wider treatment of detainees across both missions.
Detention at Ktzi'ot and the chain of command
Prosecutors reconstructed conditions for detainees at every step, from crowding before transfer to the Ashdod port to arrival at the Ktzi'ot prison, identification and administrative procedures, and release before return to Italy. The prosecutors' note names officers from both the naval and police chains. The naval chain includes Zamir, Vice Admiral Saar Salama, Tal Politis, listed as chief of staff, Shayetet 13 commander Colonel Eldad Borochovich and Ashdod naval base head Colonel Eitan Paz. Ground operations involve police chief Daniel Levy, Israel Prison Service commander Kobi Yaakobi and Magav commander Berik Yitzchak. For the second mission the chain is substantially the same, with Vice Admiral Eyal Harel named as navy commander and Major General Guy Levy as chief of staff. Prosecutors also met at Eurojust, the EU judicial agency, to coordinate with authorities in several European countries running similar investigations.
