South African Gaza flotilla activists detained in Israel to be repatriated Tuesday — Dirco

The South African activists who are being detained by Israel for taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which sought to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, are set to be repatriated on Tuesday, according to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco). 

Read more: Flotilla SOS — ‘if you are reading this, we have been illegally seized by the Israeli military’

“The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has been formally notified by the Israeli authorities regarding the status of the South African citizens who participated in the recent Global Flotilla initiative.

“We have received confirmation that the individuals in question are scheduled to be released from detention and will be repatriated, departing via Jordan tomorrow morning [Tuesday, 7 October],” said Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri in a short statement on Monday, 6 October. 

The confirmation from Dirco comes after the department said on Sunday that the South African detainees were in “good health and high spirits”.

MEDIA STATEMENT | Update on the Welfare of Flotilla Delegates pic.twitter.com/ZVeSy5c9X2

— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) October 5, 2025

The six detainees include Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, Zukiswa Wanner, Reaaz Moolla, Dr Fatima Hendricks and activist Carrie Shelver from the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg, and currently living in Switzerland.

They remain in Israeli custody after their boats, which were part of the flotilla, were intercepted by Israeli forces last Wednesday, 1 October and the activists detained. 

The flotilla, comprising about 45 boats, began its voyage to Gaza last month in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and break Israel’s siege of the region. The global action included more than 500 activists, volunteers and politicians from 47 countries, including Swedish climate and political campaigner Greta Thunberg.  

The Global Sumud Flotilla was the largest yet to try to break Israel’s blockade. 

Read more: SA activists on the flotilla risk their lives to break Israel’s Gaza blockade

Last Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Israel to release the activists, saying Israel’s interception of the boats was “another grave offence” and a violation of international law. 

On Saturday, reports emerged that Thunberg had told Swedish authorities that she was being subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody. According to The Guardian, an official who had visited Thunberg in prison said she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water. Another activist from Malaysia described being “treated … like animals,” according to a report from Al Jazeera. 

On Sunday, the Sunday Times reported that Pretoria was concerned that its International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel for violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention was likely to make negotiations for the captured South Africans difficult. 

The publication reported President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, as saying that securing the release of the South African nationals was “not going to be easy” because of the country’s case before the World Court, made more difficult by the fact that Pretoria didn’t have a significant presence on the ground in Israel. 

However, Dirco’s statement on Sunday afternoon suggested that their release was imminent.

Read more: Ramaphosa demands Israel free South African activists seized on Gaza flotilla

In response to a request for comment from Daily Maverick, Nosekeni Rabia Mandela, from the Royal House of Mandela, said the family was “pleased to hear” that Dirco had been able to engage with the South African delegates and that procedures for their return home were advancing. 

“This has been a very traumatic experience, especially after hearing of the treatment of Greta Thunberg… We wait with great anxiousness for their safe return. We believe that this mission was important to raise awareness of the plight of the people of Gaza, who are being deliberately starved to death. 

“We must stop the genocide and appeal to the UN [United Nations] and the ICJ to intervene in this unfolding human catastrophe,” said Mandela.

‘Let them go’

Speaking to Daily Maverick on Sunday evening, Shelagh Shelver, the mother of Carrie Shelver, called on the Israeli authorities to free the six South African detainees.

“Let them go, just let them go,” she said. 

The last time Shelagh had contact with her daughter was on Tuesday, 30 September. 

According to Shelagh, Carrie first heard about the flotilla in Switzerland, from where she joined the global action. Carrie was aboard the Wahoo boat, sailing under the Polish flag, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces as it approached Gaza last week. 

“The fact that Carrie supported it [the flotilla] didn’t surprise me as such because she was raised to have concern for others’ wellbeing and for fairness and justice in the world. 

“My concern, of course now, is that she is at the mercy of the Israelis, who appear to be quite unpredictable and ungovernable by international law,” Shelagh told Daily Maverick. 

Shelagh said it was “no real surprise” when it became clear that Carrie’s boat had been intercepted. 

“We knew ahead of time that if there was an interception by the Israeli forces that they would almost certainly be detained in some way… We also were aware that if they were intercepted, it was most likely that all communication would be lost.

“I certainly had a hope and a prayer that they would be allowed to offload the aid in Gaza,” said Shelagh.

She called the failure to open a humanitarian corridor in Gaza via the flotilla “a sad indictment of human society”, but said that the global action also gave her “a glimmer of hope”. 

“It’s a sad day that the Sumud Flotilla failed to achieve its target, but I think it did achieve an awful lot because suddenly the world began to look away from its own problems and look at something quite specific. 

“Without it being a cliché, I do think back to what Nelson Mandela said about our freedom in South Africa being subject to the freedom of the people of Palestine. He said those words a very long time ago, so the question of Palestine – the issue of Palestine –  has been with us for a very long time. It is a human rights issue… What is going on in Palestine is an absolute abomination,” she said. DM

This article was updated on Monday, 6 October, at 5pm to reflect the details of Dirco’s latest statement that confirms the six South African detainees will be repatriated on Tuesday.