French nurse of Moroccan origin, Malika Bouya, returned to her city of Nice in a wheelchair, after a humanitarian journey aimed at delivering aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Bouya, who left her country on foot, found herself a victim of grave violations committed by Israeli occupation forces against participants in the global Freedom Flotilla.
The French nurse recounts the details of the interception of the flotilla, which included solidarity activists from 54 different nationalities, when Israeli warships attacked the ships in the open sea. Sources reported that heavily armed soldiers boarded the boats and took the activists at gunpoint to a massive military vessel, leaving the aid boats adrift without a captain.
Bouya described the first moments of detention as the beginning of a two-day journey of terror, where everyone was forced to lie on their stomachs with their faces to the ground. Participants were subjected to systematic humiliation, including having their hands tied behind their backs and severe beatings, amidst mockery and derision from Israeli soldiers towards the detainees' feelings and dignity.
The testimony revealed the existence of what activists called the 'torture container,' a dark room inside the military vessel dedicated to abusing participants individually. Bouya stated that inside this container, she was subjected to successive punches to the chest and back by three masked soldiers, despite her continuous screams that she could not breathe.
The abuse was not limited to manual beating but extended to the use of electric shocks against some activists, tearing their clothes, and placing them in pools of cold water. The nurse confirmed that she saw her companions drenched in their blood and suffering from fractures and severe injuries immediately after they emerged from the interrogation and torture room, which spared no one.
After the participants were released and transferred to Turkish territory, Malika Bouya underwent urgent medical examinations that revealed she had two fractures in the cervical vertebrae at the back of her neck. Upon her arrival in France, additional X-rays confirmed another fracture and a severe injury to her hand, which caused her to lose normal movement due to the torture.
Legally, Bouya did not just document her injuries; she, along with other French participants, began prosecuting those responsible for these violations before the French judiciary. An official investigation has been opened by specialized bodies in war crimes and crimes against humanity to look into the abuses suffered by the Freedom Flotilla.
The nurse explained that the psychological effects of the assault are no less serious than the physical fractures, as most participants suffer from severe psychological trauma. However, she stressed that this harsh experience did not break their will but rather strengthened their belief in the necessity of continuing to support the Palestinian cause and break the siege.
'Mission Spring 2026' had launched on April 12 from Barcelona, Spain, with the participation of about 39 boats that set sail from various European and Arab ports. Organizers had hoped for wider participation of up to 100 ships, but Israeli military intervention prevented the humanitarian aid from reaching its destination in Gaza.
Malika Bouya's story embodies the suffering of international activists who face the Israeli machine of oppression in their attempts to break the isolation of the Palestinian people. Her case before the French courts remains a new test of the ability of international law to hold perpetrators of torture crimes against unarmed civilians in the open sea accountable.
They wanted to destroy and humiliate us through systematic torture, but we emerged from this experience stronger and more determined in our humanitarian stance.
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Returned in a wheelchair.. French nurse documents Israeli torture atrocities against the Freedom Flotilla