Brazil says 13 of its nationals that participated in Gaza flotilla are on way home

By AFP 7 October 2025, 4:50 pm

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Activists in orange life jackets sit aboard a Gaza-bound Sumud flotilla boat as Israeli navy soldiers sail it into the port of Ashdod, Israel, October 2, 2025, after it was intercepted while approaching the Gaza coast. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil says 13 citizens detained by Israel on a Gaza-bound flotilla are on their way home.

The group, including lawmaker Luizianne Lins of the ruling Workers’ Party, “were taken to the border with Jordan and released,” Brasilia’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, to break the blockade on Gaza.

“After six days of illegal imprisonment in Israel, the 13 Brazilians of the Sumud Global Flotilla are finally free,” Lins writes on Instagram.