The Global Sumud Flotilla, a global act of civil resistance, set out to challenge the unlawful maritime blockade imposed on Gaza, which serves as an instrument for perpetuating Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza, while delivering humanitarian aid to the embattled population and establishing an aid corridor. Following the unlawful intervention against the flotilla in international waters on 1 October 2025, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor launched an investigation and brought charges against 35 suspects before the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court. In the case we, as the Worldwide Lawyers Association (WOLAS), have been monitoring, the Court has issued arrest warrants for 35 suspects, including Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch. Following the issuance of these warrants, Türkiye’s Ministry of Justice requested that the Ministry of Interior initiate the process for issuing Red Notices for both suspects. While Netanyahu is well known to the public, far less is known about Afek Moskovitch, the tank commander responsible for the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza. Although a comprehensive judicial investigation was launched in connection with Israel’s unlawful intervention against the Global Sumud Flotilla, WOLAS sought to add further individuals to the case who are alleged to have been involved in Israel’s systematic commission of crimes against humanity and genocide in Palestine. Accordingly, on 8 November 2025, WOLAS submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor information on members of the Israeli military allegedly responsible for the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital along with concrete evidence implicating those responsible, including Afek Moskovitch. Moskovitch is a lieutenant and Merkava-4 tank commander serving in the Kfir Company (K Company) of the Israeli Defense Forces’ 71stArmored Battalion. Moskovitch played a direct role in an attack during which the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and the immediately adjacent Faculty of Medicine of Gaza Islamic University were targeted and destroyed by tanks on 21 March 2025. Footage posted on Moskovitch’s own social media account (
@afekmosko) shows him inside a Merkava-4 tank at the site of the operation. The footage shows at least eight tanks and a bulldozer maneuvering in coordination around the hospital compound. The tanks fired in succession at different floors of the hospital, as well as at classrooms, a conference hall, and a laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine. The Hebrew phrase “Maga,” meaning “target hit,” can be heard in the footage. There appears to be no indication of return fire from the hospital compound or of active fighting in the area. Moskovitch is facing charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, aggravated deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, damage to property, aggravated looting, and hijacking of means of transportation. In the ongoing proceedings, the suspects are being prosecuted both in connection with the actions carried out against the Global Sumud Flotilla and in connection with the systematic commission of crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza. WOLAS’s Call to Action WOLAS regards the Red Notice process as an important step in addressing the grave crimes allegedly committed in Gaza and international waters. We believe that the same process should likewise be initiated for the remaining 33 individuals implicated in the case. Accountability must extend not only to those who give orders, but also to those who carry out unlawful orders on the ground. No office, rank, or uniform should be used to shield anyone from accountability. We also note that, on 12 May 2026, WOLAS notified the relevant courts of the names of seven additional suspects who played a direct role in the crimes committed against the Global Sumud Flotilla’s 2025 mission, along with concrete evidence implicating them. We further announce that we have identified nearly 50 suspected members of the Israeli military who played a direct role in the crimes committed against the Flotilla’s 2026 mission and are preparing to submit additional evidence concerning these individuals to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor.
