Activists from Gaza-bound flotilla expected to return to Canada this weekend

By Canadian Press on October 11, 2025.

After being detained by Israeli forces, activist and doctor Nimâ Machouf is expected to land in Montreal on Sunday, her husband said.

The epidemiologist from Montreal was among several Canadians that had been aboard a flotilla attempting to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The vessel, named The Conscience, was intercepted by Israeli military forces earlier this week.

“We are very proud of her,” said Amir Khadir, a former Québec solidaire MNA. “We are relieved that nothing too extreme happened to her.”

A famine has been declared by UN-backed agencies and international NGOs in the Gaza Strip since this August.

Machouf will be flying from Istanbul, Turkey, after being deported there by the Israeli military. She’s expected to land at Montreal Trudeau International Airport at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Khadir said.

He said he’s feeling a mixture of joy and sadness, adding the “misery of the Palestinian people will not end just because Nimâ came back.”

He was told by his wife that Israeli forces were violent towards the activists that they detained.

“They were ill treated, (treated with) violence, and dragged by their hair,” he said.

He said he heard those intercepted from the flotillas were forced to kneel on the ground for hours at a time and that some were denied their medication.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has previously denied the accusations of mistreatment.

Khadir’s wife first left for the mission in late September, he said.

The Israeli military interception on Wednesday involved a flotilla of nine boats in the Mediterranean Sea. The activists aboard them had been attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, a total of 145 activists were brought to shore for processing and deportation in Israel following the interception. It came after nearly 450 activists, including European lawmakers and climate activist Greta Thunberg, were detained last week after more than 40 boats tried to reach Gaza.

Machouf was among five other Canadians that had been aboard The Conscience.

Indigenous rights activist Mskwaasin Agnew was also among them and is expected to land in Toronto on Saturday.

Gur Tsabar, speaking on behalf of the Canadians that took part in the mission, said her flight is expected to land at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport at around 4 p.m.

In a video posted on social media three days ago, the Cree and Dene woman and member of Salt River First Nation had been urging her friends and family to contact Canadian officials to assist in her immediate release.

Khurram Musti Khan, from Milton, Ont., is anticipated to land at the Toronto airport from Istanbul on Sunday evening, Tsabar said.

Newfoundlanders Sadie Mees, Nikita Stapleton and Devoney Ellis are still detained in Israel, he said, but are expected to be deported to Jordan on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2025.

Miriam Lafontaine, The Canadian Press