ROME, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military, police and prison officials have been placed under investigation in Italy over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists, Italian prosecutors said on Friday.
The move expands an investigation that was previously focused on Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The case concerns suspected torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage when Israeli forces intercepted small fleets of boats
headed towards Gaza in 2025 and 2026, the Rome prosecutors' office said in a statement.
Investigators opened the probe after complaints from 50 Italian citizens who were detained by Israeli authorities following two Global Sumud Flotilla missions in September to October 2025 and April to May 2026.
Katz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ben-Gvir in June dismissed news that he was under investigation, saying he would "continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters".
DEATH THREATS AND BEATINGS ALLEGED
Prosecutors said activists detained after the first mission had reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism.
Activists involved in the second mission reported even harsher treatment, including beatings in the dark, the use of tasers and rubber bullets, the statement said.
Investigators had identified various individuals forming the military and police chains of command involved in the operations, prosecutors said.
Besides Katz and Ben-Gvir, prosecutors named 12 senior Israeli military, police and prison officials as suspects, including military chief Eyal Zamir.
Zamir also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said they had sent Israel a request for judicial assistance in June, seeking information needed to reconstruct events and establish individual responsibility. They did not say whether Israeli authorities had responded.
The prosecutors said they had also held talks at the European Union's judicial cooperation agency Eurojust because similar investigations into the two flotilla missions were under way in other unnamed European countries.
Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be prosecuted in Rome.
Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. However, if the probe determines that charges are warranted, prosecutors could lodge a formal request for trial.
Flotilla organisers say they aimed to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. Israel says its naval blockade on Gaza is lawful.
(Reporting by Marco Roberti and Crispian Balmer, Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
