Merve Aydogan
20 May 2026•Update: 20 May 2026
Cuba’s UN envoy denounced the Israeli treatment of Gaza flotilla members in international waters on Wednesday, rejecting what he called the “impunity” with which Israel commits violations of international law.
“We denounce the arbitrary detention in international waters and the torture by the Israeli regime of Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, who were transporting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” Ernesto Soberon Guzman told an open session of the UN Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
Noting the incident within a broader pattern of violations, he said: “We reject the impunity with which Israel commits new violations of international law and human rights.”
Guzman argued that international humanitarian norms were being eroded globally, warning against “the trend of reinterpreting these norms in favor of hegemonic and dominating interests in order to justify indiscriminate attacks, collective punishment, and the use of hunger and blockades as methods of warfare.”
On the situation across the occupied Palestinian territories, he said: “The systematic Israeli attacks throughout the occupied Palestinian Territory against homes, shelters for displaced persons, places of worship, streets, vehicles, humanitarian facilities, and schools constitute crimes against humanity.”
He further called for Israel to be held accountable “for apartheid and genocide against the Palestinian people” and accused the United States of providing political, diplomatic, military, and financial support to Israel’s actions.