South African writer, publisher, and activist Zukiswa Wanner and other participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla arrived safely in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, after their release from Israeli custody.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international, civil society–led maritime initiative aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The flotilla consisted of more than 50 vessels and thousands of participants, including activists, doctors, and artists from over 44 countries. The mission involved hundreds of individuals aboard the boats and thousands more offering support worldwide.
Among those aboard the Florida—also known as Anas Al Sharif, named in honor of the slain Palestinian journalist Anas Al Sharif—was Wanner, who has long been an outspoken advocate for the Palestinian struggle.
In 2023, she attended the Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest), where she witnessed firsthand the realities of the occupation. The experience inspired her to write Vignettes of People in an Apartheid State, a collection reflecting on life under settler colonialism and drawing parallels with South Africa’s apartheid era. She also documented her experiences aboard the flotilla as it made its way toward Gaza.
Raid and Detention in International Waters
On the night of October 1, while the boats were still in international waters, they were intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces, and those aboard were detained.
The incident sparked outrage across the continent, with statements of solidarity issued by South African writers, Ethale Publishing, and numerous civil society organizations. Media outlets, including Arise TV, KTN News, Okay Africa, BBC, CGTN Africa, eNCA, Reuters, and Radio Now Nigeria, reported extensively on the unfolding crisis.
Beginning on October 3, Israel started releasing detainees in groups, starting with four Italian parliamentarians whose diplomatic immunity was recognized. Others followed in the days that came after.
South African Response and Return Home
On October 6, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) announced that it had verified the well-being of its detained citizens and arranged for their transfer to Jordan, from where they would return home. When the South African delegation landed in Johannesburg on October 8, they were greeted with a hero’s welcome. Mandla Mandela, who headed the delegation, said the activists had been “harshly dealt with” because South Africa has taken a firm stand against Israel’s actions in Gaza — including filing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Zukiswa Wanner’s Statement
Following her release, Zukiswa Wanner issued the following statement:
“The five other South Africans and I who were kidnapped in international waters by the apartheid Israeli government are fortunate to be back with our families. This is far more than can be said for the more than 11,000 Palestinians who have been taken hostage by the same regime — many of them children.
We ask that our release not be a distraction. The starvation, genocide, ecocide, and scholasticide of the people of Gaza must remain the focus. The world must continue documenting the crimes of apartheid Israel, as we shall all need to bear witness on the Day of Judgment.
With our flotilla now intercepted within the last 24 hours, it is even clearer how cruel the apartheid Israeli government is. We urge governments around the world to act to end the starvation and catastrophe that the people of Palestine have endured for 77 years — a tragedy that has only recently come to wider global attention.”
— Zukiswa Wanner
October 8, 2025, Johannesburg
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