South African Activists Aboard Global Sumud Flotilla Boat, Including Mandla Mandela, To Be Released

• The Israeli Embassy announced that the South Africans, including Mandla Mandela, will be released on 7 October 2025
• Mandela, who is the grandson of former statesman Nelson Mandela, was among those taken forcibly by Israeli forces
• The Embassy responded to an article written online about one of the captives' partners and said the taxpayers will pay for their deportation tickets

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international relations, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.

GAUTENG — The Israeli Embassy announced that the South African activists who were captured as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) will be deported back to South Africa on 7 October 2025. This was after their boat was intercepted and taken to an Israeli port.

The Embassy said on its @IsraelInSa X account that the South African activists will be deported via Jordan. The Embassy said the South Africans tried to enter Israel illegally. The embassy also said that the South African tsxpayters will pay for the activists' deportation tickets.

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Read the X tweet here:

What happened to the GSF flotilla?

Former statesman Nelson Mandela's grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, was among those who were taken captive when the boat carrying aid to Gaza was intercepted. The boat was part of the Global Sumud flotilla (GSF), a humanitarian aid mission that was made up of 40 civilian boats.

The boats carried 500 people on board and their mission was to deliver vital aid to alleviate the suffering of the residents of Gaza, who have suffered from the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his address at the United Nations General Assembly that the International Court of Justice must rule that genocide is being committed in Gaza.

Ramaphosa also called for the release of the captives, which included Swedish climate and political activist Greta Thunberg. He also called for the release of other volunteers from different countries who tried to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid.

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South Africans unimpressed with Embassy

Netizens commenting on X were not happy with the Embassy.

Paul Graham asked:

"What is illegal about sailing in international waters? There is no UN-mandated blockade even within Gaza's territorial waters. The illegal act was yours."

uMbhali said:

"Mashego was left in the cold in Nigeria, but the government didn't come to his rescue. These guys went there on their own."

Branden Loren said:

"The Mandela family is lying! It's confirmed that all South Africans involved in this failed Flotilla are safe and being cared for."

Tapiwanashe Chiriga said:

"They never tried to enter Israel illegally. You abducted them on international waters."

Thembelani said:

"I've never seen anything like this before. This must mean that Israel's relationship with DIRCO is beyond repair."

DIRCO denies knowing Hamas attack

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation denied that it was aware that Hamas would attack Israrle on 7 October 2023.

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An Israeli publicstion published a local journalist's article of a lawsuit against the South African government, accusing it of knowlingly collaborating with Hamas ahead of the attacks.

Source: Briefly News