Three Turkish lawmakers who were among passengers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israel on Wednesday are on their way back to Turkey through Azerbaijan, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli announced on X that Felicity Party deputies Necmettin Çalışkan and Mehmet Atmaca, along with Future (Gelecek) Party deputy Sema Silkin Ün, had left Israel.
İsrail tarafından el konulan Özgürlük Filosu’na ait teknelerde bulunan üç Milletvekilimiz, Türkiye’ye dönmek üzere Azerbaycan’a hareket etmişlerdir.
Diğer vatandaşlarımızın yarın yapılacak özel bir uçak seferiyle ülkemize gelmesi için çalışmalarımız sürüyor.
Gerçekleşmesi…
— Öncü Keçeli | Dışişleri Bakanlığı Sözcüsü (@SpoxTR_MFA) October 9, 2025
He said Ankara is working to bring all the remaining Turkish nationals home on a special flight expected Friday, adding that citizens of other countries may also be evacuated.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which organized the mission, said on Wednesday that the Israeli military first attacked The Conscience, a ship carrying 93 people including doctors, journalists and activists before intercepting three smaller boats. Passengers were “being held in unknown conditions,” the group said.
Contact had been cut for some time with the Turkish lawmakers after the raid, according to Turkish officials.
The ministry said earlier that the MPs had been taken to Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday night after being removed from the flotilla at Ashdod Port. Another 18 Turkish citizens were sent to Ketziot, a high-security prison in the Negev desert used primarily to detain Palestinians whom Israel accuses of involvement in terrorist activities.
Videos recorded before the lawmakers’ detention were later shared on social media.
In one of them, Ün said: “If you are watching this video, it means I have been unlawfully detained by Israeli forces.” In another, Atmaca said Israeli troops had “abducted” him, while Çalışkan called for a stronger international response to the Gaza blockade.
Israel’s foreign ministry called the operation a response to “another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone.” It said passengers were safe, transferred to an Israeli port and would be deported.
Ankara condemned the interception as “an act of piracy” and a “grave violation of international law.” Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş warned Israel that “if our colleagues suffer even the slightest harm, those responsible will be held to account before the international community.”
Lawmakers from various parties expressed rare unity, passing a resolution condemning the raid. Government spokesman Ömer Çelik warned Israel against mistreating Turkish nationals, while Felicity Party leader Mahmut Arıkan urged President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to take “deterrent measures” and convene the National Security Council.
The October 8 raid came just days after Israeli forces detained about 450 people on another flotilla known as Global Sumud, which involved some 40 vessels. Among them were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and around 50 Turkish citizens, most of whom have since been deported.