Italy Adds Katz and Zamir to Gaza Flotilla Probe

Rome prosecutors have placed Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, its military chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other senior military, police and prison officials under investigation over the treatment of Italian activists detained from two Gaza-bound flotillas. France and Spain have opened their own cases. Twelve Canadians were among those detained in May, and Canada's foreign minister has called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Italian prosecutors said on Friday, 16 October 2026, that Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military, police and prison officials have been placed under investigation in Rome over the treatment of activists from the Gaza flotilla missions, Reuters reports. ANSA, citing the same prosecutors' office, reports that the Gaza flotilla probe now covers members of Israel's chain of command, among them two government ministers, Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Confirmed

This piece, part of this publication's Conflict and Security coverage, sets down what the Rome prosecutors announced, what the activists allege and what Israel says, the parallel cases in France and Spain, and what Canada's government has said about the twelve Canadians detained in May.

What Rome Prosecutors Announced in the Gaza Flotilla Probe

The case concerns suspected torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage when Israeli forces intercepted boats headed for Gaza in 2025 and 2026, the Rome prosecutors' office said in a statement, as reported by Reuters. ANSA reports the charges as ranging from torture to kidnapping. Confirmed

Investigators opened the probe after complaints from 50 Italian citizens detained by Israeli authorities after two Global Sumud Flotilla missions, one in September and October 2025 and one in April and May 2026, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. Confirmed The investigation was previously focused on Ben-Gvir. In June, Italian media, among them L'Espresso citing ANSA, reported that Rome prosecutors had entered him in the register of suspects. Confirmed as reported

Military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is among those named as suspects, Reuters and Al Jazeera report. Confirmed Reuters, reporting the prosecutors' statement, gives 12 senior officials besides the two ministers, 14 people in all. ANSA reports about a dozen.

Reuters and ANSA, both 16 October 2026. ANSA's figure is approximate and the Reuters count falls within it. Al Jazeera reports Katz and 12 senior officials, including Zamir, consistent with Reuters. Confirmed

Prosecutors said they had sent Israel a request for judicial assistance in June, seeking information needed to reconstruct events and establish individual responsibility, and did not say whether Israeli authorities had responded, Reuters reports. They also held talks at Eurojust, the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, because similar investigations into the two flotilla missions are under way in other European countries, which they did not name. Confirmed as reported

Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be prosecuted in Rome. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial; if prosecutors find charges warranted, they can lodge a formal request for trial, Reuters reports. Confirmed as reported

What the Activists Allege, and What Israel Says

Prosecutors said activists detained after the first mission reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism, and that activists from the second mission reported harsher treatment, including beatings in the dark and the use of tasers and rubber bullets, according to Reuters. Confirmed as reported Al Jazeera reports that the activists reported at least 15 cases of sexual assault, including rape. Confirmed as reported

Luca Poggi, an Italian economist who was detained, told Reuters in May: “We were stripped, thrown to the ground, kicked,” Al Jazeera reports. Confirmed as reported

Israel's position is on the record from its prison service. It said detainees were held “in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights” and received medical care, the Times of Israel reports. Asked by AFP about claims of physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, assault and rape, it said the accusations were “entirely without factual basis,” Le Monde reports. A prison service spokesperson, Zivan Freidin, gave The Canadian Press the same answer in May, calling the allegations “false and entirely without factual basis.” Confirmed that Israel's prison service said so

Israel says its naval blockade of Gaza is lawful. The flotilla organisers say they aimed to break the blockade by delivering humanitarian assistance, according to Reuters. Confirmed as reported Ben-Gvir, when news of the investigation into him broke in June, said he would “continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters.” Katz and Zamir did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reports. Confirmed as reported

Reuters, Al Jazeera and the Times of Israel, 16 October 2026; Le Monde with AFP, 5 June 2026. Contradicted

The Two Flotilla Missions

The sources give these figures for the two missions the Rome probe covers. ANSA reports that the investigation concerns the interception in May and another mission as well. Confirmed as reported

The two sets of figures for each mission do not match. Al Jazeera, 16 October 2026; Novara Media, 13 July 2026; The Canadian Press, 21 May 2026. Contradicted

A video posted from the port of Ashdod showed Ben-Gvir taunting detained activists who were handcuffed, blindfolded and forced to kneel, ANSA reports. Le Monde with AFP and The Canadian Press also report the video. Confirmed Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Ben-Gvir's conduct reached the “lowest” level, and Rome summoned Israel's ambassador in protest, according to ANSA. Confirmed as reported

On 19 May 2026, Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had instructed the Italian ambassador to Israel, Luca Ferrari, to request that all Italian citizens in the flotilla be treated with dignity, and that the embassy had asked Israeli authorities to “take all necessary measures to safeguard the physical well-being and fundamental rights of Italian citizens.” Confirmed

The Cases in France and Spain

France's national counterterrorism prosecutor's office, the PNAT, opened an investigation into an alleged “war crime” and “torture” over Israel's treatment of French activists from the flotilla, it said on 5 June 2026. The probe was opened at the French government's request, Le Monde reports, with AFP. France banned Ben-Gvir from entry over the video. Confirmed as reported

In Spain, Judge Francisco de Jorge of the National Court is examining the boarding of the October 2025 mission, Novara Media reported on 13 July 2026. The case covers only vessels flying the Spanish flag, which the judge described as under Spanish jurisdiction, and its focus is Zamir. El País reported that retired naval commander Ram Rothberg is also under investigation, according to Novara. Complaints against Ben-Gvir and the head of Israel's prison service, Yosef Knipes, were dismissed, and events at Ketziot prison fall outside the case. Novara reports that the judge intends to ask the International Criminal Court whether the flotilla detentions fall within its existing investigation. Confirmed as reported

The Twelve Canadians

Twelve Canadians were among the activists Israel detained from the second mission, The Canadian Press reports, citing the activists. Confirmed as reported The first interceptions of that mission, west of Crete on 30 April 2026, included two Canadians, a flotilla organiser told The Canadian Press. Confirmed as reported

On 22 May 2026, after the Canadians reached Turkey, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted that officials there had given her details of “appalling abuse” of Canadians detained in Israel.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, on social media, 22 May 2026, as reported by The Canadian Press. Confirmed as reported

Anand directed Global Affairs Canada to summon Israel's ambassador, Iddo Moed, and a Global Affairs official later confirmed that he met Canadian officials in Ottawa. Prime Minister Mark Carney called Israel's treatment of the flotilla members “abominable” and “unacceptable” after the Ben-Gvir video was published. Canada joined France, Italy and the Netherlands in condemning Ben-Gvir's conduct and summoning ambassadors, The Canadian Press reports. Confirmed as reported

Safa Chebbi, spokesperson for Global Sumud Canada, who spent four days in Israeli custody, told The Canadian Press she was forced to kneel with her head pushed to the floor and was beaten, and that Israeli forces fired rubber bullets at her boat. Two Canadians were still in hospital on 22 May. Confirmed as reported

Ben-Gvir was already under Canadian sanctions. On 10 June 2025, Global Affairs Canada listed him and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich under the Special Economic Measures (Extremist Settler Violence) Regulations. In a joint statement that day, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom said the two “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.” Confirmed He is banned from travelling to Canada, The Canadian Press reports. Confirmed as reported

Where It Reaches a Household

The households reached are those of the people detained. Fifty Italian citizens filed the complaints behind the Rome probe, and twelve Canadians were among those held in May. Confirmed

What the Record Shows

On 16 October 2026, Rome prosecutors widened a criminal investigation that had focused on Itamar Ben-Gvir to include Defence Minister Israel Katz, military chief Eyal Zamir and other senior military, police and prison officials, on suspicion of torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage during the interception of two Gaza flotillas in 2025 and 2026. The case rests on complaints from 50 Italian citizens. Reuters reports 14 people named in all, and ANSA about a dozen. Activists report beatings, tasers, rubber bullets and at least 15 cases of sexual assault; Israel's prison service says the accusations are without factual basis and that detainees were held lawfully. France opened a war crimes and torture investigation on 5 June, and a Spanish judge is examining the October 2025 boarding. Twelve Canadians were detained in May; Canada's foreign minister condemned their treatment and Canada has sanctioned Ben-Gvir since June 2025. Being under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt.

Nothing published here is investment, legal or security advice.