Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, please allow your humanitarian aid volunteers who were abused to move forward with the International Criminal Court, European Court of Human Rights, and other international legal cases against violent war criminals.

In October 2025, after exhausting all attempts at bringing in humanitarian aid by land, hundreds of people in civil society, including volunteers with Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, attempted to bring baby formula, food, and medicine to victims of genocide in Gaza. On October 8th, 2025, at 02:23 UTC in international waters approximately 120 nautical miles from the Gaza coastline with noted coordinates (32.1112, 32.1762) the naval branch of the Israeli Defense Forces forcibly intercepted the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief naval vessel “soul of my soul,” the humanitarian aid aboard, and the humanitarian aid crew in violation of the volunteers’ internationally recognized and inalienable human rights, denying them and Mutual Aid Disaster Relief the ability to fulfill their legal mandate of providing disaster relief to disaster impacted people.

The humanitarian aid crew of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief’s naval vessel was abducted by IDF naval commandos, taken to the Port of Ashdod, and held against their will in unlawful and arbitrary detention by the State of Israel for 2-5 days, and experienced physical and psychological abuse and gender-based violence at sea, the Port of Ashdod, Ktzi'ot Prison, and an additional undisclosed prison location by Israeli soldiers, guard staff, and police.

In May 2026, hundreds more humanitarian aid volunteers were similarly abducted at sea by the State of Israel, and many experienced severe violations, including rape and torture in Israeli custody.

These are very serious violations of the Geneva Conventions, San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

As a U.S. based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with all the proper legal documentation, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is legally bound to fulfill its mission to provide disaster relief, and so would have the strongest legal case against the State of Israel among the civil society humanitarian aid responders who attempted to bring essential supplies to victims of genocide.

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief and the volunteers impacted initiated a case in the International Criminal Court in November 2025 echoing Palestinian civil society in requesting (as reparations for this harm, and to prevent these and similar crimes against humanity and our organization to not happen): the end of the occupation and colonization of all arab lands, dismantling of the separation barrier (apartheid wall), the recognition of the fundamental rights of the arab-palestinian (and all other minority) citizens of Israel to full equality, implementation of the right of palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194, and genocide and crimes against humanity charges against the State of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir, Israeli Navy commander-in-chief David Saar Salama, Minister of Finance Bezalel Yoel Smotrich, the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and all other individuals, organizations, institutions, nation-states, and other coconspirators complicit in these crimes.

The International Criminal Court case proceedings are already at an advanced stage, and need supplementary filings and ongoing legal communications with the International Criminal Court. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights case and the Italy civil and criminal cases are ready for the international human rights lawyer to file.

Despite donors pledging to cover all international legal fees directly if Mutual Aid Disaster Relief would not pay the fees, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief has not allowed the volunteers who were harmed in furtherance of the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief mission to move forward with these legal cases by giving a green light to the international human rights lawyer.

No amount of internal organizational chaos or conflict is an excuse for having what amounts to a de facto pro-genocide, anti-humanitarian aid, anti-international human rights law position.

We, the undersigned, request Mutual Aid Disaster Relief allow the humanitarian aid volunteers who were abused to move forward with the International Criminal Court and other international legal cases against violent war criminals to obtain accountability and to prevent future harm.

(In addition to signing here, you are also welcome to email Mutual Aid Disaster Relief at info@mutualaiddisasterrelief.org, media@mutualaiddisasterrelief.org, volunteer@mutualaiddisaterrelief.org, or mutualaiddisasterrelief@gmail.com, or mail them a letter at 503 E Jackson St. #318 Tampa, FL 33602 requesting they allow the humanitarian aid volunteers who were abused to move forward to obtain accountability, justice, and to prevent future harm.)