Scots activists arrive home after being detained by Israeli forces

Two Scottish activists who were detained by Israeli forces have been reunited with their families in Scotland.

Sid Khan and Jim Hickey were two of some 450 people on board the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) who were detained by Israel last week while trying to reach Gaza with a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid.

The men, who arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday, were detained alongside fellow Scots Margaret Pacetta and Yvonne Ridley when the boat was intercepted last week.

Margaret Pacetta was deported and arrived at Istanbul airport on Saturday, alongside 136 other activists. On her arrival, she described the prison as “awful”, adding that detainees were not given food or water.

Jim Hickey, 52, and Sid Khan, 48, have arrived in Scotland STV News

Yvonne Ridley was also deported and was due to arrive in Manchester on Thursday afternoon.

Their return comes as Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza, paving the way for a pause in the fighting and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The militants killed some 1,200 people that day, while 251 others were abducted. Forty-eight hostages are still held in Gaza – around 20 believed to be alive.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll.

Areas of the plan advanced by the administration of Donald Trump – such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza – remain unclear.

Even with an agreement expected to be signed later in the day, Israeli strikes continued, with explosions seen on Thursday morning in northern Gaza.