US Leads Condemnation of Israel Minister Taunting Gaza Activists

The U. S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has condemned a video posted by Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, which sparked international outrage and sharp criticism within Israel after showing blindfolded activists kneeling with their hands bound.

In the clip, shared on Ben-Gvir’s social media on Wednesday, the Israeli government minister taunted the detainees, who were aboard a flotilla carrying a nominal amount of aid for Gaza that departed from Turkey a week ago. Over 50 boats carrying 430 activists were en route to the devastated territory that’s currently under an Israeli naval blockade. While carrying only a token shipment of aid toward the strip, the Global Sumud Flotilla has drawn eyes back to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has remained dire despite a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel that’s been in place since October.

The incident also highlights the strain Ben-Gvir’s conduct has placed on Israel’s relationships with foreign governments. The national security minister is no stranger to international condemnation, having been barred since June 2025 from entering the U. K.

, Canada, Australia, Norway and New Zealand. In a joint statement at the time, the countries’ foreign ministers said Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. ” “These actions are not acceptable.