The World Condemned the Flotilla Abuse — But Ignores Gaza

On Monday May 18^th, Israeli commandos, intercepted a flotilla of more than 50 vessels in international waters off Cyprus, kidnapping the civilians onboard. These nonviolent pacifists were doing nothing more than trying to bring desperately needed food and medical supplies to the population of the world’s largest open-air prison – Gaza.

The apartheid regime of Israel treats Palestinians as though they are animals.  While the Israelis indiscriminately kill residents in Gaza and the West Bank, even youths accused of throwing stones at tanks are killed or arrested and held indefinitely, without trial. As of December 2025, 9,128 Palestinians were being held in Israeli jails, many indefinitely. Few have been offered the democratic right of a trial.

Conditions in Gaza are literally indescribable:

• The unemployment rate is 80%.
• Israel has destroyed Gaza’s health system. 22 hospitals have been destroyed and medical workers have been targeted, with over 1,700 killed and 3,000 wounded.
• Schools and universities have been forced to close, leaving Palestinians to struggle to educate their children.
• Infrastructure in Gaza has been shattered. Approximately 77% of housing has been damaged or destroyed.
• Food is very scarce. This is due to the fact that Israel controls all points of entry in Gaza and literally prohibits any amount of food above the minimum caloric requirements for human survival. Al Jazeera has termed the Israeli strategy as “Starvation by design.”

After being arrested by Israel, the heroic volunteers from the flotilla ships were treated-in the most barbaric manner. They were physically abused, receiving violent kicks from the Israeli captors’ army boots, following which their heads were repeatedly slammed into the ground. A number of them have reported that they were sexually assaulted and raped.

Although Israel has denied these allegations, the treatment of prisoners by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gives credence to their reports. Ben-Gvir actually shared a video online of himself taunting the captives while they were forced to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads touching the floor.

Fortunately, much of this was caught on camera, leading to a world-wide outcry. Canada was among the countries demanding an explanation from their Israeli ambassador, then Prime Minister Carney called Israeli President Isaac Herzog to protest “that the appalling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable.”

While I am so very glad that governments around the world condemned the treatment of these volunteers, it is truly sad that treatment order of magnitude more terrible is inflicted on thousands of Palestinians year-round without any international condemnation.

It is time Canada immediately stops exporting arms to Israel.

It is time Canada immediately stops all trade with Israel.

It is time for Canada to do more. Much more.

Daily atmospheric CO₂ [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]

Latest daily total (May 26, 2026): 432.53ppm

One year ago (May 27, 2025): 430.15ppm