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International activists deported from Israel after joining an intercepted Gaza aid flotilla have given further accounts of mistreatment by guards during their detention.

The latest claims made by participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla added to the growing scrutiny of Israel on Sunday for its treatment of the activists.

Some 450 participants in the flotilla were arrested between Wednesday and Friday as Israeli forces intercepted the boats, which were seeking to break a naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Palestinians in the besieged territory.

Speaking at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on his return on Sunday, Italian activist Cesare Tofani said, “We were treated terribly … From the army, we moved on to the police. There was harassment,” ANSA news agency reported.

Yassine Lafram, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, who landed at Milan Malpensa Airport with the activists, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “They even treated us violently, pointing weapons at us, and this is absolutely unacceptable for us in a country that considers itself democratic.”

Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi, who landed at Fiumicino Airport late on Saturday, said Israeli soldiers had withheld medicines and treated the detained activists “like monkeys”, The Associated Press reported.

He said the Israeli guards mocked the detained activists – who included Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers – in order to “demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about”.

Activists targeted with laser sights

Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino said that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis”.

Speaking to AP on his arrival at Turkiye’s Istanbul Airport after being deported from Israel on Saturday, he said he had been repeatedly woken up by guards during the two nights he spent in detention.

He said the detained activists were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us”.

Another activist, Paolo De Montis, reported experiencing “constant stress and humiliation” at the hands of the guards, who kept him in a prison van for hours with his hands secured by zip ties.

“You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head,” he told AP. “They forced us to stay on our knees for four hours.”

Deported activists from the flotilla had earlier spoken out about the mistreatment of Thunberg, one of the highest profile members of the mission, in particular, saying she had been “dragged on the ground”, “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”, and “used as propaganda”.

‘Brazen lies’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave conflicting responses to the activists’ allegations, with the ministry insisting the stories of ill-treatment were “brazen lies”, while Ben-Gvir said he was “proud” of the detainees’ harsh treatment in Ketziot prison.

“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” he said in a statement.

“If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets – they were mistaken,” said Ben-Gvir, who was filmed taunting the activists as they were brought ashore.

“They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.”

By contrast, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that claims of mistreatment of Thunberg and other flotilla activists were “lies”.

“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” the ministry said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody. Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they never occurred.”

Israel’s arrests and treatment of the activists led to criticism from countries including Pakistan, Turkiye and Colombia, and street protests around the world, as well as a written protest from Greece.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the country deported a further 29 flotilla activists on Sunday, but many remain in detention in Israel.

Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public broadcaster RTVE that 21 of the 49 Spanish detained flotilla activists were expected to return home on Sunday; while Greece’s Foreign Ministry said 27 Geek citizens were to return from Israel on Monday.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday sued Southern California Edison over its alleged role in the deadly Eaton fire, a blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes and other structures in Altadena and the surrounding area.

In a civil complaint, prosecutors allege that the Eaton fire was ignited by “faulty power infrastructure or by sparks from faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by Edison.

The results of the official investigation of the fire by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have not yet been announced. The government’s lawsuit notes that the investigation into the fire remains ongoing.

The government also sued Edison on Thursday for its alleged role in the Fairview fire, which burned near Hemet in 2022. Prosecutors are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from Edison, alleging the company’s negligence caused both fires.

Together, the fires burned tens of thousands of acres of National Forest System lands, killed 21 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said “there’s no reason to wait” for the results of the investigation into the Eaton fire. During a Thursday morning news conference, Essayli cited evidence and “Edison’s own statements … that there’s no other apparent cause for the fire.”

“We believe that the evidence is clear that Edison is at fault,” he said. “The reason not to wait is because fire season is coming up again. We want Edison to change the way it does business. It does not maintain its infrastructure in a way to prevent fires. We do not want another fire igniting.”

Essayli stressed that the intention is for the utility company and “not the ratepayers” to bear the burden of the costs.

“Innocent hardworking Californians who pay their electricity bills should not have to pay for Edison’s negligence by incurring higher utility rates,” he said.

Jeff Monford, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, told The Times that the company is reviewing the lawsuits “and will respond through the appropriate channels.” It is “committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”

In addition, he said, “our thoughts are with the community affected by the Fairview fire. We continue our work to reduce the likelihood of our equipment starting a wildfire.”

Although the cause of the Eaton fire is still under investigation, Monford said, it “was heartbreaking for so many of us who live and work in the Los Angeles area.”

In April, Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said that “a leading hypothesis” of Eaton fire investigators was that a century-old transmission line, last used during the Vietnam War, somehow became reenergized and sparked the fire.

The government’s lawsuit cites a July Edison filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the utility company stated it was “not aware of evidence pointing to another possible source of ignition” for the Eaton fire.

In March, the California Public Utilities Commission fined Edison $2.2 million for the Fairview fire, which killed two people and destroyed 36 homes and other structures in Hemet.

The commission said the utility violated state regulations by failing to cooperate with investigators and not safely maintaining its electrical equipment.

State investigators concluded that the 2022 Fairview fire was ignited when Edison’s equipment came in contact with a cable owned by Frontier Communications.

The government is seeking more than $40 million in damages tied to the Eaton fire. For the Fairview fire, the government is seeking to recover about $37 million in damages incurred by the Forest Service, including approximately $20 million in fire-suppression costs, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A.

“The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent to clean up one utility company’s mistakes,” Essayli said in a written statement Thursday.

“We hope that today’s filings are the first step in causing the beginnings of a culture change at Southern California Edison, one that will make it a responsible, conscientious company that helps — not harms — our community.”

Edison is facing dozens of lawsuits from people who lost their homes or businesses in the Jan. 7 Eaton fire. A study by UCLA estimated that losses from the fire could be $24 billion to $45 billion.

State officials say damage claims from the Eaton fire could wipe out a $21-billion fund California created to shield utilities from the cost of blazes sparked by their electrical lines.

LOBATERA, Venezuela — Carlos Uzcátegui tightly hugged his sobbing wife and stepdaughter on Wednesday as the morning fog in western Venezuela lifted. The family’s first embrace in more than a year finally convinced him that his nightmare inside a prison in El Salvador was over.

Uzcátegui was among the migrants being reunited with loved ones after four months in prison in El Salvador, where the U.S. government transferred them in one of its boldest moves to crack down on immigration.

“Every day, we asked God for the blessing of freeing us from there so that we could be here with family, with my loved ones,” Uzcátegui, 33, said. “Every day, I woke up looking at the bars, wishing I wasn’t there.”

“They beat us, they kicked us. I even have quite a few bruises on my stomach,” he added later showing a mildly bruised left abdomen.

The migrants, some of whom characterized the prison as “hell,” were freed Friday in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments, but the latter sequestered them upon arrival to their country.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other officials have said many of the immigrants were physically and psychologically tortured during their detention in El Salvador, airing on state television videos of some of the men describing the alleged abuse, including rape, severe beatings and pellet-gun wounds. The narratives are reminiscent of the abuses that Maduro’s government has long been accused of committing against its real or perceived, jailed opponents.

As the men reached their homes, they and their relatives shared deeply emotional moments in which sad tears and happy tears rolled down their cheeks at the same time.

Uzcátegui’s wife, Gabriela Mora, 30, held onto their home’s fence and sobbed as she saw the military vehicle carrying him approach after a 30-plus-hour bus ride to their mining community nestled in Venezuela’s Andean mountains. She had set up gifts and decorations in their living room, including a star-shaped metallic blue balloon with a “Happy Father’s Day” greeting that his stepdaughter had saved since the June holiday.

‘We met a lot of innocent people’

The 252 men ended in El Salvador on March 16 after the administration of President Trump agreed to pay $6 million to the Central American nation to house them in a mega-prison, where human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths and cases of torture. Trump accused the men of belonging to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang, which originated in Venezuela.

The administration did not provide evidence to back up the accusation. However, several recently deported migrants have said U.S. authorities wrongly judged their tattoos and used them as an excuse to deport them.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on Friday said only seven of the men had pending cases in Venezuela, adding that all the deportees would undergo medical tests and background checks before they could go home.

Arturo Suárez, whose reggaeton songs surfaced on social media after he was sent to El Salvador, arrived at his family’s working-class home in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday. His sister hugged him after he exited a vehicle of Venezuela’s intelligence service.

“It is hell. We met a lot of innocent people,” Suárez told reporters, referring to the prison he was held in. “To all those who mistreated us, to all those who negotiated with our lives and our freedom, I have one thing to say, and scripture says it well: Vengeance and justice is mine, and you are going to give an account to God the Father.”

The Associated Press could not verify the abuse allegations that Suárez and other migrants narrated in the videos aired by state media.

Atty. Gen. Tarek William Saab on Monday said he had opened an investigation against El Salvador President Nayib Bukele based on the deportees’ allegations. Bukele’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Appointment to seek asylum

The men left El Salvador as part of a prisoner exchange with the U.S., which received 10 citizens and permanent residents whom Maduro’s government had jailed over accusations of plotting to destabilize Venezuela.

Mora said her husband migrated after the coal mine he had long worked at halved his pay and their street food shop went out of business in 2023. Uzcátegui left Lobatera in March 2024 with an acquaintance’s promise to help him find a construction job in Orlando.

On his way north, Uzcátegui crossed the punishing Darien Gap that separates Colombia and Panama, and by mid-April he had reached Mexico City. There, he worked at a public market’s seafood stall until early December, when he was finally granted an appointment through a U.S. government smartphone app to seek asylum at a border crossing.

But Uzcátegui never walked free in the U.S., where authorities regarded his tattoos with suspicion, said Mora. He was sent to a detention center in Texas until he and other Venezuelans were put on the airplanes that landed in El Salvador. Still, she said she does not regret supporting her husband’s decision to migrate.

“It’s the country’s situation that forces one to make these decisions,” she said. “If [economic] conditions here were favorable … it wouldn’t have been necessary for him to leave to be able to fix the house or to provide my daughter with a better education.”

Cano writes for the Associated Press.