# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says a specialist team met with a group of South African activists detained at the Negev Israeli Prison facility. The group, including Mandla Mandela, was on board Gaza-bound aid ships that form part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, when they were detained by Israeli forces last Wednesday. Israel claimed the flotilla was violating a lawful naval blockade. DIRCO’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says Flotilla, a civilian-led initiative, was embarking upon a peaceful and humanitarian mission:
DIRCO says procedures for the return of detained South Africans in Israel advancing steadily [SOUND]
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