A NORTH Belfast man who was kidnapped by Israeli forces and deported whilst on board a humanitarian flotilla bringing aid to Gaza earlier this year has published a first-hand account of his experiences in a new book.
'Kidnapped on the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza 2026' by Ardoyne man Fra Hughes is a detailed account of events before and after his detention in April.
Fra traces his journey from the streets of Belfast during the Troubles—where solidarity with Palestine was forged in the shadow of British occupation—through 15 years of campaigns, convoys, and protests in Brussels, Barcelona, Cairo and beyond.
He documents the first Gaza convoys of 2010, the slow-burning solidarity movement that kept faith through years of failure, and the 2026 flotilla aboard the Alma, including the preparations, the dangers and the extraordinary community of international activists who risked everything together on the water.
Fra and his comrades were intercepted in international waters by Israeli commandos. What followed were three days of kidnapping, imprisonment, and deliberate degradation—from a metal shipping container in the Mediterranean to the high-security Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert.
Fra said: "I think there was a lot of interest around the Flotilla. The book is written to explain what happened, why people went and the wider context around it.
"Both of my Flotilla experiences are covered. Obviously the second time was more dramatic with the interception, prison ships, maximum security prison and my journey home.
"I believe the whole experience affected me more than I realised – or indeed more than I was willing to admit.
"I thankfully did not suffer the same brutality as others but I was still kidnapped at gunpoint, threatened with being shot, handcuffed and kicked in the back.
"My hands are still numb in places from the tightened handcuffs I was forced to wear.
"I have gone from feeling relieved to be at home to being angry at what we were forced to endure.
"My experience has hardened my resolve to keep fighting for liberation and justice for all the Palestinian people.
"As well as detailing my own experience, I am also reminding people that it is nothing compared to the conditions Palestinians are forced to endure every day.
"The magnitude of suffering inside the prisons and their communities – the genocide, the starvation, the carpet bombings, the sniping and the ethnic cleansing."
You can purchase the book online here.
